Marriage to a Malfoy
by BlueRain1
Summary: -COMPLETED- Ginny is forced to marry Draco Malfoy. Shaky as it is, the marriage may develop into something else given the proper time. R&R DG Rfor some material and strong language.
1. The News

Marriage to a Malfoy

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**Entire Summary:** Ginny is forced to marry Draco Malfoy, long time rival and enemy. Shaky as it is, the marriage may not be all that it seems, when they start to really getting to know each other, they discover much in common. They also discover that it is not hate what they've always felt from one another and perhaps they learn to fall in love each other. Another cliché. R&R 

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**Author's Note:** Woo, another chaptered story by yours truly. After the recent finishing of _Leapt in Time_ and the current developing of _Timeless Scars_, I felt like I needed a wee bit break from the T/G-ness, and, because I ship two Ginny ships, then I'm developing this one. The almighty Fire and Ice. This is a bit different from my style of writing, but who knows, maybe not? The chapters are short, not as long as my previous story's chapters. I don't know if this idea has already been developed, but if it has, I'm not ripping off anybody, it came to me suddenly and I decided to write it. Other authors feel free to tell me if this idea has already been done and if it is one of the many D/G clichés we all know and use so much.

**Disclaimer:** Oh, you know the drill, JKR's property and blah-blah-blah. I don't own the characters, or the situations they have been previously exposed to. I only own the plot, and I may not own it either. All in all, you know how it goes.

Chapter One

~The News~

Ginny Weasley sat on a swing seat oh her porch at the Burrow; she had just come home after finishing her last and seventh year at Hogwarts. Oh to be free at last, or so she thought. Her plans were to move out of The Burrow and get a job somewhere far from England. Perhaps she would go to America or to the Caribbean, where she'd always dreamed of going. It wasn't that she didn't stand her family; it just was that she had learned to be an independent person and she wanted to go out and explore what the world had for her.

However, she certainly did not see what would happen next coming. She was lost deep in her thoughts about starting a life, marrying later in like and being positively happy for the rest of it. But, though good, firm dreams they were, they were also far from what would be the cruel reality. Molly and Arthur Weasley, her mom and dad, had come sit next to her, both looking as if one of their children were about to die. Molly looked as if she were in the verge of tears.

"Ginny, darling," said Arthur grimly, "You know we love you." He sighed deeply. "But, there comes a time when some sacrifices must be made."

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked, turning her head to look at them, and sending the all-too-known feeling of upcoming bad news,

"You have to get married," said her mother tearfully, "To Draco Malfoy." And bad news they were indeed.

"What?!" Ginny yelled, standing up with a jolt. "No! Definitely not! I've barely turned eighteen and I'm not getting married and much less to that incompetent, selfish, spoiled, self-centered prick!"

"You have to, dear," said her mother standing up and taking her hands on her own. "We're sorry."

"Why?" asked Ginny, still enraged, "Why on bloody hell do I have to marry him?"

"Darling," said her father standing up as well, "You know we owe the Malfoys much more than we can afford. Remember when Narcissa Malfoy took care of Ron when he lost his memory last year, and thank goodness he's alright now. And Narcissa endeared herself with him and made Lucius send us money, and even though we didn't accept it, we had to start using it afterwards. But now… now he wants us to pay him back and I'm afraid we can't so he… he asked for you to marry his son."

"Oh, so you can't pay them, let's give him your daughter! Is that how it is, dad?" Ginny said, beyond herself. She then took a deep breath and sat back down. She put her hands over her face, soothing herself as her parents looked at her intently. "Very well," she said softly, after a while. "I'll marry him because I love you, but that's all." She rubbed at her eyes to prevent herself from crying.

"Thank you, dear," said Arthur, Molly was weeping bitterly. "The wedding is in two days."

* * *

Ginny looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror; she looked astoundingly pretty, but not happy. She wore a long wedding dress. It was white with clear adornments; strapless and form-fitting until the waist, from which it fell loosely, bell-shaped-, onto the ground. Her flaming hair was up in a fancy twist which served to support the long veil upon her head. She wore pearls around her throat and two tiny dots on her ears.

On her hands she carried an expensive bouquet of wild violets, her favorite flowers. Her make-up was natural, only a light shadow on her eyes and glossed lips. A knock on the door brought her back to reality. She answered with a weak "come in" and her father came in, looking odd in a tuxedo.

"Darling, you look—"

"Oh, let's just get this over with," she cut in angrily and dragged her father out of the room.


	2. The Wedding

**A/N:** Well, this is the second chapter of the story, a bit longer than the first. Enjoy it.

Chapter Two

~The Wedding~

Once she was walking down the aisle in the garden, her arm linked with her father's, she made out her whole family in the small crowd gathered, she could make out Ron, looking murderous but attempting to hide it behind a small smile. Standing next to him were Harry and Hermione, the latter gave her a kind smile of reassurance and Ginny smiled back at her rather weakly.

It was sunset and the wedding was being held in the Malfoy Manor's courtyard. It all looked very expensive. From the crystal fountains to the gold foot chandeliers that held golden candles and at the same time hovered a foot from the floor. Ribbons made of the finest silk adorned the courtyard, they were silver and gold. Roses, lilies and violets were also part of the decor. 

When they reached the end, Draco Malfoy stood there; looking ridiculously handsome and unmoved. Her father lifted the veil and gave her a small kiss on the forehead and from that moment on, everything else went by like a blur. A fast, uncomfortable blur. Even the brief kiss that sealed the ceremony seemed unreal. It was as if everything was a nightmare which she was eager to wake up from.

At the reception, she mingled with a few guests and members of the Malfoy family; which consisted in mostly blondes and silvery hair, with the few exception of two or three brunettes. But she was the only redhead, she noted dully. They were rich, boring people more interested to talk about money than of anything else. And the women were more interested about the cost of her dress and jewels than of her own personality. Being as polite as she could be in the situation, she excused herself from the Malfoy women, who were now discussing what to wear for the midsummer family gathering, and left, towards her own family.

After stopping to take a glass of red wine from one of the waiters, she greeted some of her brothers and cousins. Her aunts, uncles, and her own mother and father were amongst the crowd of Weasleys gathered on a corner, far from the other family. None of the Weasleys looked very happy about the wedding and most of them shot menacing looks and hisses at the other family's members. Once or twice a Malfoy little boy, one of the many sons of the other Malfoys would come past and greet them shyly, and they would greet back, smiling and pitying on the fact of the rule-stricken life the child was going to have.

She approached Ron, Harry and Hermione. She kissed the three of them on the cheek and quickly started a conversation with them, not about anything that had to do with money, thankfully. Ginny was trying to talk soothingly to her brother, attempting to stop him from making her a widow after only two hours of marriage. "I'll kill him, Ginny!" he growled, shaking with fury. Harry and Hermione both put comforting arms onto his shoulders. 

"Ron, calm down," said Ginny as calmly as possible. Her Weasley temper could not hold out much longer and she knew she could explode to anyone, and, personally, she preferred to explode at her new husband, to give him hell in their first night as wedded partners. 

"Ron's right, Ginny," said Hermione sighing a bit, "He is a bastard for making you marry him. Oh what you must be going through."

"Thanks for reminding me, Hermione," said Ginny rather moodily, but accepted the hug from her brunette friend.

In a short distance, and within earshot, stood Draco, drinking out of a glass with white wine in it and watching his 'wife' trying to calm her brother. Draco admired the feisty little redhead, having seen her deal with worse situations and being the dominant one. _Not in this marriage, she won't be_, he assured himself, smirking. The arranged marriage did not bother Draco; in fact, he had been waiting for it his whole life. He never fell in love, and never expected to. At least he had a desirable, and well, he admitted, a beautiful girl for a wife, and thankfully, she wasn't much younger than him.

He smirked to himself as he neared her and her clueless brother, he, Draco, would have fun, at least now. He seized Ginny's waist and pulled her into a deep kiss, she dropped her glass in surprise and it shattered at her feet. Several people noticed and looked at them, but at seeing the scene, they just smiled or smirked and went around their business again. 

When he pulled apart, she was slightly dizzy and flushed, but she cleared her throat, bid goodbye to her furious brother and dragged Draco away furiously, though she didn't show it to him. She grabbed his hand with hers and they walked past some people who waved at them, smiling. Probably, the rest of his family didn't know that the marriage was arranged. They stepped away from the noise and rounded a corner into a gazebo that was set far from earshot. She then rounded on him.

"These are the rules," she said, pointing at him. "We kiss only on public and only at your social gatherings. I have the knowledge you Malfoys only marry to breed so no sex _whatsoever_ except on the period in which I can get pregnant, and I know when that will be every month. I do not love you, I do not like you, and if you don't like my rules, then you can get a divorce."

"Sounds fair enough," drawled Draco, shrugging. "Only _I have a few rules of my own. We __will have sex tonight, as it is our wedding night and because I say so. Second, I may touch you, kiss you, caress you, and call you dear and darling in front of my family and family friends. We will sleep in the same bed and we'll act like we love each other in public, understood? If you don't like __my rules, then you have a big problem because I am not getting a divorce."_

"Fair enough," she said and nodded slightly. "Enjoy the rest of your party. I'm going upstairs to the bedroom." She made to walk out but he grabbed her arm and forced her to him, she was now half pinned between him and the wooden rail of the gazebo, she looked up at him, snarling. "Let go of me."  
  


"No," he growled and grabbed her shoulders, kissing her again, she pushed him away and he smirked down at her. "You'll stay until the end and we'll go up together."

"No," she said trying to free herself from his grasp. "You're not the boss of me!"

"You're my wife," he sneered, "You'll do what I want you to do tonight. It is a Malfoy tradition, besides."

"Oh? What, force the wives to do things against their will?" she spat, jerking free from his grip and huffing indignantly, straightening out her dress. "Bastard,"

"Thank you," he said smirking, then grabbed her hand. "Now come."

A/N: Do Review, please. Much appreciated.


	3. The Wedding Night

**A/N**: Wow… I didn't expect such response. Hn… about Draco being OOC, I know, I didn't pay much attention to it in this story, perhaps you'll see him more OOC in following chapters. I'll try to stick to his true personality, though. But he's quite a complex character to write about, in my opinion at least. Thanks for pointing it out though. Thanks to all the other reviewers as well, it makes me want to update sooner when I see such response! ^_^; Well, enough babbling and here's the third chapter.
    
    _My thoughts are trivial pursuits _
    
    _My heart's a bomb that's been defused _
    
    _What now? _
    
    _There's no more use for me _
    
    _I'm wasting energy _
    
    _Muscles are weaklings _
    
    _Thoughts just defeat me _
    
    _Numbness is effortless _
    
    _I could get used to this –Vermont ~Cursive_

Chapter Three

~The Wedding Night~

Ginny looked around the living room in the Manor, which now belonged to her and Draco. All the guests had gone already and the big house was left to Draco and herself. His parents had moved to another one of their properties or something like that. The rest of the evening wasn't very pleasant, she had had to go around, her arm linked in Draco's, pretending they were happy, smiling and kissing now and then, very briefly.

People had started to leave early, as to let them have a "wonderful wedding night" as some of them put it. She rolled her eyes internally and smiled forcefully. When everybody was gone, she let go of her husband as if touching him burned her and was glad that she could already drop the façade of a happy couple. She had let her long hair fall from the twist in which it had been held and now the long strands reached past her waist. She thought about cutting her hair, she had left it long because she liked how it looked, but now this didn't seem to matter to her. If she was destined to live hell with this man, what was the use in looking her best? But she quickly discarded this thought, thinking that perhaps grooming herself as she wanted herself to look would be the only escape from the prison which was her own life now.

The Manor was decorated in a Victorian theme all over. It was breathtaking. The floors were made out of polished oak wood. The ceiling was high, enchanted to always look like a night's sky, even if it was day outside, which was not the case as of now. There were actual fountains inside of the house; she wandered around, still in her wedding dress, with her heels on her hands, walking barefoot across floors of wood, of carpet, of concrete. She smiled to herself, immersing her mind in a fantasy that she was married to someone she loved and that she was going to be happy.

But the sudden presence of Draco brought her back to reality; he was standing on the doorframe, smirking at her. His tie was undone, and he didn't have the jacket of his tuxedo on. She sighed, knowing what would come next. He beckoned for her to follow him, and she did so. He led her several flights up until they came to two wooden pine doors. He opened them and let her pass first. The sight that met her was as breathtaking as the rest of the house.

It seemed to be the master bedroom of the house. In the center were a canopy, four-poster bed with silken silver sheets and a silvery, translucent fabric falling from the canopy. She made her way around the room, eyeing it slightly and then turned to face him, her arms crossed slightly. He neared her, smirking as always. She gulped and let her hands fall at her sides as he started kissing her shoulders.

"Stay away…" she hissed as he put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them slightly.

"Why should I?" he sneered to her ear, "You're my wife."

"Don't remind me," she stated disgustedly as he unzipped her dress, leaving her in only her white underwear. She stepped out of the dress and looked at him as he stared at her. He cupped her neck and walked forward until she had walked backward to the end of the bed; their bodies extremely close whilst she stared at some point in his neck, as to not look at him in the face.

He lay her down with extreme delicacy, to the point in which it made her wonder if that was indeed Draco Malfoy, and then he lay on top of her. He smirked at her before kissing her neck again whilst his hands touched and explored her. She sighed to herself as he moved his lips down to her chest and stomach and even more down still.

* * *

She waited for her breathing to stabilize; the previous actions had been exhausting and somewhat painful, but only at first. Gradually, the pain had subsided and she, despite herself, began enjoying it. The problem was that he actually knew how to do that to her, it was as if he knew all along where to touch her and kiss her, where to lick, to breathe and how fast to go. She tried to keep her gestures, sounds and reactions to a minimum, and had to conform to clutching the sheets and biting her lower lip.

He had been wonderful, truly remarkable. She tried to not enjoy, reminding herself that this man was supposed to repulse her, but she couldn't be repulsed at the man that was making her experience such wonderful things, that took her so close to her desires and needs with the utmost feeling that she was floating into heaven, into ecstasy.

Now he lay beside her, staring up at the ceiling. She looked at him, but he did not seem to notice. Slowly, she turned on her side and fell asleep, extremely exhausted.

* * *

He eyed the ceiling, lost in the hazy nectar of her sweat mingling with his, of the taste of her body on his mouth, and of the subtle reactions she had made, apparently struggling to not react to him. He had made sure that she enjoyed every last bit of it just as he had. Because he had enjoyed it, it was one of the most wonderful experiences he'd ever had in his life. And proud as he was, and would probably not tell it even under death threat, he did admit to himself that he had enjoyed her fully. He had broken that thin barrier that separated her oh-so-appealing innocence from the cruel scars of womanhood.

He felt her breathing go back to normal and craned his head to see her sleeping; her face facing his. The silk sheet covering her had slid down to her waist, so her whole upper body was revealed; her chest rose and fell with each intake of air, her hands were beneath her cheek, serving as pillows, and strands of damp hair fell down her face and around her neck.

He reached out his hand and pushed the strands back; he then caressed his wife's bare, soft back and watched as she stirred silently. She looked like a child, unaware of anything around her, lost in her dreams of fantasy. Now he had to spend the rest of his life tied down to her. He didn't have to be loyal, Merlin knows that his father hadn't been loyal to his mother, but he, Draco, preferred to be loyal. Unlike his father, he had been taught morals. 

* * *

When Ginny woke up the next morning, she was feeling extremely comfortable. A weak ray of sunshine came through the blinds and she opened her eyes, blinking a few times. She sat up, the sheets falling to her lap and discovered she was dressed in a green, silk nightgown. She blinked again, rubbing her eyes and got out of bed, still sitting on the edge of it, her feet touching the ground.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Malfoy, ma'am." Ginny jumped at a squeaky voice and saw, to her amazement—but not surprise—a tiny house-elf greeting her. She had big, round hazel eyes and was wearing what seemed to be an old rag that had been washed many times, the colors were fading. But what most amazed Ginny was that she had been called 'Mrs. Malfoy'. Now there was a thought…

"Yes, um…?" she said, not certain of the creature's name. The house-elf smiled a big toothy grin and bowed her head.

"Teeny to the Miss' service," said the little elf, "Comes with me, ma'am. 'Tis time for the Miss' bath." 

"Um, Teeny…" said Ginny gingerly, "You can call me Ginny, for starters. And… well, I think I can take a bath by myself."

"Comes with me, Miss, to your bath! 'Tis already warm." Teeny led Ginny by the hand and they entered the bathroom, which was big enough to be a bedroom. The elf undid Ginny's clothes and led her to the bathtub in the middle of the room, where lay a thick soap bubble cloak above the water. 

Ginny got in, a bit uncomfortable with the elf's presence, but paid no attention to it and enjoyed her warm bath. Afterwards, she got out, wrapping a soft, black towel around herself. She walked out to the bedroom, where the elf had put out some clothes; a knee-length black skirt and a dark blue blouse. Ginny noted that the clothes seemed to be brand-new. 

As Ginny put on underwear and the clothes, the elf signaled her to sit in a stool, Ginny did so and the elf stood up on a higher stool behind her. Teeny snapped her fingers and Ginny felt as her whole hair dried in an instant, then she began to brush it. Ginny enjoyed the attention and the pampering, of course, but she was still a tad uncomfortable with having everything done for her.  When Teeny had braided Ginny's hair into two, she then went out of the room and disappeared. 

Ginny stood up, watched herself in a mirror nearby and decided to go down for breakfast. Remembering a bit the path in which Draco had led her the previous night, she found—with difficulty, mind—the dining room. "Need a map for this damn place," she muttered under her breath as she entered.

"That can be arranged, Virginia," said Draco from where he was, sitting on the opposite chair from where she sat to eat. "Just ask one of the ghosts."

Ginny rolled her eyes slightly and began to eat, not really paying attention what. When she finished, the food disappeared and then appeared a cup of coffee and a copy of The Daily Prophet. Still not used to the fancy spells and all, she blinked, sipped on the coffee but spluttered it out when she saw the headline of the Daily Prophet.

MALFOY MANOR HOSTS WEDDING:

DRACO MALFOY AND GINNY WEASLEY DIVE INTO WEDLOCK

There was a picture of them kissing at the end of the ceremony, and then waving apparently happy. Then there was an article which explained the wedding in detail. "What did you expect, Virginia?" said Draco casually, folding his hands on top of the table. "Malfoys have money, we're famous. You better get used to it."

**A/N**: Liked it, hated it? Review, please!

 ~Blue


	4. One Drink Too Much

**Author's Note: Ooh, I'm so excited that people like the story. This is an odd chapter; I don't even know why I wrote it, but just bear with me here. So without further ado… the fourth chapter!**
    
    _Yesterday just seems so far away_
    
    _When you were just another pretty face to me_
    
    _I used to only think about you once in a while_
    
    _But now I can't do anything_
    
    _To get you off my mind –Crazy ~By Jake_

Chapter Four

~One Drink Too Much~

Months passed like days in Malfoy Manor, everything went by quickly. The days seemed to be barely hours when Ginny sat on the library, enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate in front of the fire. It was a rather odd night, for it was chilly and it was summer, though it was the end of summer. She sat with her legs crossed, staring at the fire, thinking what to draw. She had been accustomed to drawing, playing the harp or the piano, writing, or simply staring at things. Piano and Harp came naturally to her, with, of course, the help from a few ghosts that also wandered around the manor. Drawing had been difficult, for she had to learn to do it herself. But afterwards, she found a soothing aspect in this. Writing was a natural talent of hers, for as long as she could remember, so that wasn't exactly new.

She was wearing a short black skirt with a dark green tank top that was rather provocative, but as she also wore a dark green robe, could not show off the amount of skin that it naturally showed. She was barefoot, her feet now beneath her buttocks, she was sitting on them. She had grown accustomed to the attention she was given in the Manor. Some would even say she was starting to get spoiled. But she really tried to maintain sanity and her honesty by sometimes neglecting the luxuries provided for her.

She had also begun to socialize a bit with her husband, not being so cold towards him, as he in return did the same. They had formed a relationship of not friends but of acquaintances. They could be at least in the same room without an argument now. The first month had been hell, they were both snapping at each other's throat and, every time, he would give her a different expensive gift, which she threw away on a drawer and left them there without using them. They had been mostly jewels; emeralds, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, amethysts and all the stones you could think off. She thought that he had spent almost all the money on her, but she soon got to know the Malfoy riches triplicate every time he or she spent money.

They owned factories, stores, industries, and they even had stocks of magic corporations. It was too much things to name and remember. She had been going to parties and gatherings and reunions with him, always pretending they were happy when they weren't really so. And in turn, she had invited Hermione and Harry (she invited Ron, but he would not set foot in the house) to the Manor and they had spent hours with her. Draco hadn't been pleased with this, but he let her do as she wanted, because she also went with him to wherever he asked her to.

Draco wasn't a bad husband; she'd give him that at least. He was rather indifferent as to what she did with the money he gave her; she gave it to her parents. He never forced her to get intimate with him, but by now he knew the period in which she could get pregnant and had it pinned on a calendar, so he knew when it was coming. They were very subtle those days, a week or so of being intimate, every night. But they had had no luck yet of conceiving a child. She didn't mind the trying so much, though. She knew he didn't at all, but she had at first. Now, though, she had resigned and gotten acquainted with the idea that there was no escaping this and settled down.

As the end of the summer approached, she knew that the Malfoy family reunion was approaching as well. Thinking this, she saw Draco come in, carrying a burgundy shawl on his arm. He spotted her and nodded a greeting with his head. "Evening, Virginia,"

"Evening, Draco," she replied, sipping another sip of hot chocolate and staring at him now. He was wearing a white sweater and navy trousers. He then threw the shawl at her and she saw that it was not a shawl, but a dress, a very beautiful embroidered dress. "What's this for?" she asked, examining the dress carefully, it appeared to be made of a velvety material. 

"For the reunion," he said and shrugged. "Mother sent it to you." He then sat on the seat opposite from her, putting his hands to his temples. She folded the dress and put it aside, eyeing him briefly.

"It's lovely; I will have to thank your mother." She blinked a bit and sighed. "Bad day?" she asked gingerly, he looked at her appraisingly, then shrugged again.

"I had to send some reports and pay some people. Thankfully I work here at home, or I wouldn't have made it back. I'm bushed," he replied indifferently, sighing deeply and stretching slightly. "Teeny, come here!" Ginny raised her eyebrows and shook her head slightly as the little elf came into the room. She bowed down. "That's enough," said Draco, a bit uncomfortable with the bowing and all. "Bring me some brandy, quickly." He cleared his throat and looked at Ginny. "What? Why are you staring at me?" he half-snapped at her.

"Nothing," she said, turning her gaze towards the fire again, and placing the now empty cup onto the table beside her. There was an extremely long silence which was only broken when Teeny came back, carrying a tray with brandy and two glasses with little ice. She then picked up the cup that Ginny had placed on the table and Ginny smiled at her, the elf smiled back.

Teeny was considerably cleaner and better dressed now, Ginny had bought some clothes and left them lying around for her to find them. She was not really freeing the elf, as to free her, she had to give her the clothes personally and she wasn't doing that. Besides, she didn't think Teeny would want to go, even if she was freed. The elf then left again. 

"Play the piano, will you?" said Draco to Ginny, who looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Please," he added as an afterthought, interpreting her silence well. She stood up and walked over to the piano that was beside him, she opened the cover and stretched her fingers as she sat down and began playing Moonlight Sonata. 

Draco watched her intently; her flaming long hair was loose. He hadn't seen it loose since their wedding night. Every day after that she always had it up in braids, ponytails or buns. He watched as her fingers slipped through the keys gracefully, the notes coming out in harmonious rhythm. She had grown more beautiful with each day that passed. Sometimes he stared at her all night, when she was sleeping and didn't notice. He had promised to himself that he would at least win her affection, even as just a friend.

Now, now, he wasn't falling in love with her, because if there was one thing he couldn't do was fall in love with her. It would break a thousand codes and rules the Malfoy men had done very long ago about forced marriages. He looked at her again and found her looking down at the piano, with her hands resting on her lap. She had long since finished. He stood up and walked over to her, putting a glass with brandy under her nose. She raised her gaze to him.

"No, thanks," she said pushing the glass away slightly.

"Drink it," he said softly, "It isn't poisoned or anything."

"I know that," she said and shrugged. "I just…" she then took the glass, "Oh forget it. Thanks." She drank it slowly.

"Don't mention it," he said, sipping from his own glass as well.

* * *

She was laughing, laughing like he'd never heard her laugh before. An empty glass lay clutched on her hand. They had drunk the whole brandy bottle and had also drunk another one he had made Teeny get them. They started talking and laughing about stupid things. He was feeling a bit woozy, but not anything a cold bath could not wash out. She looked astoundingly in a good humor. He hadn't seen her in a good humor in months, maybe even years. 

They were already two months into their marriage, and things had only gotten better the past month. He watched as she stood up from the seat that was opposite to him and sat next to him. 

"You know, Draco," she said, slurring a bit, "I never did—hate you to—begin—with."  She blinked a few times, apparently trying to make her vision less blurry, she then smiled to herself.

"I didn't hate you either, Ginny," he said truthfully and laughing a bit. She looked at him sideways.

"You never—called me by my nickname before," she said and shrugged. "It—sounds odd when—you say it." 

"Yeah, well, it sounds odd when you call me Draco, but I don't complain about it." He smirked at her. She shrugged again.

"There's no point in calling you—Malfoy again, is there?" she said rather faintly, "I'm a Malfoy now, so it really isn't that appealing anymore."

He nodded and she nodded as well. He then sighed, sitting back against the couch; she leaned forward, looking around the empty library room. She then looked at him and reached out her hand to touch his face. As she did so, he froze, eyeing her hand and then her face, she was looking at the spot she was caressing, which were now half his cheek and half his neck. "Such beauty in a male," she whispered taking strands of his fair hair on her fingers and looking at them as they slid through her fingers like silk. "Not wasted either," she added, "Many a woman would have given anything to be where I am right now," She then looked down. "But I wasn't one of them."

He seized the hand that was on his face with his own hand slowly, he then brought it down, still grabbing it. "I know that," he said and nodded, his face remained emotionless. He let go of her hand, and she retreated it towards herself. 

"I had so many plans for myself," she went on softly, he looked at her. "Shattered them all, this marriage. Don't you ever wonder what it would be like if we hadn't married?"

"Well, of course I do, Virginia, but the other option wasn't too appealing." She looked at him, tilting her head. "Millicent Bullstrode, you see. I had to choose between you or her. And I think the answer is pretty obvious." She nodded slightly as he stretched. She then stood up and in front of where he was sitting. She then bent her knees until she was in his eye level. Her eyes looked oddly clouded. He, despite himself, cupped her cheek with his hand and she tilted her head so she caressed his hand with her shoulder. 

He brushed his thumb against her lips slightly and her mouth parted a bit, and she shuddered. He smirked at her, enjoying the chills this sent on his spine, he stood up as she unbent so she was standing up as well. His free hand went to her shoulder and she smiled rather mischievously at him. He leaned in as did she, but when their lips were barely touching each other, he pulled back. She looked at him, confused.

"I won't do this," he said, angry at himself. "You're drunk. Come on, let's get you to bed."

And saying this, he grabbed her hand and led her upstairs. Not stopping, even once, to look at her reaction.

**A/N**: So there, liked it, hated it? Review and let me now! Also, if you have suggestions, I would be more than happy to take them!

**~Blue**

And thanks to….

-HPfreak8

-Jacqueline

-Angelic-pen

-jesslie 

-elfgirl 

-takari_shipper 

-Amver

-MelissaAdams

-pHATcATmOMMAwITHtHErEDdRESSoN 

-lavenderab

-frangipany89 

-AnniBug

-H. Malfoy

-Naruto's Girlfriend

-Queen-Ditz

-padfootsknightingale

-digidestined

-Cursed4Life

-crucia

-jenniav 

-Starkyrox9191

-AnniBug

-elf-princess4

-KrystianMalfoy

-Erica 

-Starkyrox9191

-little-kat-girl

-SamiJo

-jelly 

-Lanna/Jon4EVA

-Animegirl18 aka Hoshiko

-Wood-Lover

For reviewing. ^_^


	5. An Interesting Night

**Author's Note:** Hey! Woo! Reviews make me happy and make me want to write more. ^_^; Questions will be answered at the end of this chapter. So… Chapter Five!

Chapter Five

~An Interesting Evening~

Ginny woke up, feeling like the whole world had fell on her head. She sat up slowly, seeing that she was, once again, in her green, silk nightgown. She groaned a bit, putting her hands to her head and holding it slightly. She remembered everything that had happened the previous night, yet she knew she had been drunk. She cursed at herself for having allowed herself to get like that. She had always avoided that kind of thing. 

She saw Draco come in the room with a vial on one hand and a glass on the other. He signaled for her to scoot over on the bed and he sat down on the edge. He opened the vial and smoke came out of it slightly as he poured some of the contents into the glass. It was a colorless substance that fumed and hissed slightly. She eyed it uncertainly as he passed it to her, she looked at it.

"What is that?" she said, smelling it and proving that it smelled like pepper. She held the glass, but didn't drink it.

"Pepperup Potion," he said, closing the vial and putting it on the bedside table. "Drink it," he said when he saw that she was just looking at it. "It does wonders when you're in that state. You'll be as good as new in a few hours."

"Perhaps by noon?" she said hoarsely after she had drunk it all. It burned and singed at her throat and she felt it go down like fire, warming every inch of her body. 

"It is already past noon," he said, she blinked and leaned against the frame of the bed, closing her eyes. She sighed and inhaled a deep breath. "If you're hungry, you can ask Teeny for food," he said after a few minutes. He stood up and made to leave the room.

"Hey," she called after him; he looked at her from the doorframe. "Thanks for, uh, last night and… for the potion…" She trailed off, looking around. She wasn't being nice to him, right? No, because she couldn't, not at all. She set her face.

"No problem," he said and bowed his head slightly at her. "Virginia," he said, she looked at him. He neared the bed again. "You will have dinner with me tonight on the backyard."

"What's the occasion?" she asked, "Who's coming this time?"

"No one," he said and shrugged. "Just you and I having dinner; Teeny'll have clothing for you, she'll put it out at eight thirty. Be downstairs by nine."

"Why is it that every single word out of your mouth comes out as an order?" she asked, a bit aggravated now. He looked at her and tilted his head.

"I am trying to be nice to you so we do not have to go back to the first month. Or do you want to go back to that?" he asked angrily, she looked at him indifferently. "I would go back to that, no problem at all. So you were forced to marry me, you can't use that story anymore to defend yourself. You need to grow up and accept the facts. I thought you had but you always go back to phase one, you are reluctant to try and make this work, Virginia. And I'm getting fed up of the whole situation. 

"I try to be a good husband; I maintain you, I give you money, gifts, I listen to you and ask you for things in a nice tone of voice. I could just ignore you all the time so you can go crying to your family because you're in a living hell. But I don't do that because I try to make this as bearable as possible. It's not all fun and games for me. I need to deal with the press, with people and family that ask how we are. Oh right, we're happy. Only in front of them, that is. It is frustrating to go into a room with you and having you snapping and demanding every last ruddy thing I do. Have you got any idea of how much I have to hold inside and grit my teeth just to please you? You are not very thankful either." He was panting slightly when he finished. She noticed that he had wanted to say that for quite some time now.

She looked at him, her face expressionless and blank. "You want to please me?" she said, trying to retaliate a bit from all the truth he had spilled to her. "Then get me a room in this bloody house that it is only for me, a room like the Room of Requirement there was at Hogwarts, if you remember. That it can be whatever it needs to be at will."

She knew it was impossible, but she wanted to try and get back at him for what he had said, which was all the truth in any case. But she was too proud to accept it. He looked at her briefly and then went out of the room, before closing the door, he said, "Remember to be downstairs at nine, sharp." And then he slammed the door closed. She groaned in frustration and crossed her arms angrily. 

* * *

He sat at the backyard; he had had the house-elf arrange a nice setting outside. Candles floated above the table and lights made a path towards it. The moon was visible in the clearing, and millions of stars twinkled mischievously at him. He sat with his arms crossed; two empty plates were on the table until it was time for them to eat, in which they would fill magically until they were full.

He looked at his watch, which had just indicated the hour of nine. At that same instant he looked up to see her walking hesitantly towards the place where he was. She was wearing a short, dark brown dress with thin straps as sleeves. Her shoes were brown slipper-like low-heels. Her ginger hair was curled and loose. She wasn't wearing much make-up; he only could see a thin layer of gloss on her lips and bronze eye-shadow. She sat across from him and looked around.

"Nice," he heard her mutter softly, probably to herself. She then looked at him. He held her gaze. It was the first time they had looked at each other's eyes in a long time. He had never quite really looked at her eyes; they were dark and big, glowing eerily under the moonlight whilst his were clear and translucent. Her gaze was mysterious yet enchanting, as if she held secrets or no secrets at all.

She broke the stare first, perhaps feeling uncomfortable. He saw her look down at the plate, which was now full; he realized his was full as well. They ate in silence; the only sound to be heard was the tinkling of the silverware and the plates. When they finished, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and they watched as the plates cleared for dessert. It was baked apple bits on a sweet and tangy cinnamon sauce.

When they had finished eating, he tapped his wand on the plates and they both disappeared. She folded her hands on the table and sighed. "Can I go now?" she demanded, not looking at him, but towards the Manor in the distance. 

"Sure, fine," he said and shrugged. "Do whatever you want." But she didn't stand up; she remained seated and looking at the Manor.

"Look," she said hesitantly, "I'm sorry about this whole thing. I'll… I'll try harder. I just don't want this to be as it was at first."

He remained silent, eyeing her quietly as she avoided looking at him. He sighed deeply and shrugged. She looked at him now, apparently expecting something. "What?" he said, "Do you expect me to say something? I think I said enough already."

"You did," she said softly and stood up, giving him her back as she looked now at the garden. "And I will at least admit that you were right… on some points."

He stood up as well, standing in a distance behind her. She then turned around to face him. Her arms were still crossed.

"What would… what would have happened if I had refused to marry you?" she asked gingerly. He looked at her and blinked slowly.

"Neither you, nor your family would be alive right now." He saw as her expression softened into sadness, she then nodded a bit. 

"I did the right thing then… there came the time where a sacrifice needed to be done… I guess I was the one destined to be that." She looked up, straightening her dress and fixing her hair with her hands. 

"You did refuse to marry me," he said, nearing her. She raised an eyebrow. "You just changed your mind afterwards,"

"That's true," she said and nodded slightly. "It was the least I could do for my parents; they've done so much for me,"

"Be thankful, then," he said and shrugged slightly. "You had good parents who cared for you and gave you their love."

She stayed silent for a long time, just eyeing him sadly. She then placed a hand on his shoulder, he eyed it. "You never knew much love did you?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

"I don't want to go into a discussion of that at the moment, Virginia," he said, shrugging her hand off. She nodded slightly.

"Well, I guess that's only fair." She sighed and looked at him again.

He looked at her slightly; the wind was blowing the hair out of her face while it blew his on his face. A sudden breeze blew the candles out and they were left in only the light of the moon and of the stars. It was more than enough light, since they really weren't eating or doing anything important. She looked very inviting under the bluish glare of the moonlight; she was looking around herself now, consumed, perhaps, in her own thoughts.

He simply couldn't take it anymore; it was driving him mad that she just couldn't accept it all, that she couldn't accept _him_. But at that moment she did something surprising and clung to him slightly. He remained still, looking down at the top of her head as he felt her arms go around his middle. It was very odd indeed, but he embraced her as well, tangling his arms around her shoulders.

They stood like that for what it seemed were hours, but were really only seconds. She then pulled back and looked up at him, "Sorry," she muttered lowly and remained looking at him as if something had caught her attention.

"Don't be," he hissed gutturally and cupped her face with his hands. He breathed heavily, looking at her, hesitating to get closer. She let out a small whimper and shuddered involuntarily.

"Don't, Draco," she said breathlessly, but didn't move backwards or anything. Even if they were married, they had never kissed voluntarily or for long before. They had just given each other a few smooches, which lasted only two or three seconds. 

They did move closer and neither closed their eyes. And, when they were about an inch from each other, when they could feel each other's breath in their lips, she looked down at his mouth and kissed him hesitantly. He saw her close her eyes and he closed his as well, kissing her more firmly now. Her lips were warm and soft against his. He ran his tongue against her bottom lip, pleading for entrance.

She parted her mouth slightly and he opened her mouth with his; her tongue came out to meet his and caressed his slightly. She tasted faintly of the dessert they had had previously mixed with something he couldn't recognize, but could only describe as a sweet and sour taste that made him want more. Her arms were motionless the whole time, up until now. While his rubbed her faced and made her stay in the place where she was, she was simply not responding physically. And this in itself was one of the factors that aroused him.

He had to control himself before it went too far. The only problem was that he didn't want to control himself and that that barrier he did not want to cross had already been crossed before, quite a few times actually. Though, it hadn't been crossed willingly, on her part at least. They kissed more deeply and more passionately. Perhaps the dessert had been an aphrodisiac or something of the sort, but they literally could not keep themselves off of each other. 

She had now long since started responding to him with her hands, wrapping them around his neck and brushing her nails against his nape, this made him shiver at her touch. She had never, never touched him before. Even when they were intimate, she had kept her hands to herself. Now she touched him softly and gently, just as he had imagined she would.

She pulled back from his lips, panting slightly and now kissing his neck, softly nibbling on his flesh. Her hands now went under his shirt, her nails grazing his back. He groaned, tangling his hands in her hair and caressing her. She then pulled back completely, looking up at him in the semi-darkness. He couldn't see her expression clearly, but he imagined that she had spooked herself with her actions and had stopped. He shrugged to himself and made to go back to the Manor.

It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed the little encounter, but he didn't want _her to know that he had. However, she had grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards her, then pushed him towards the ground and straddled him, sitting on his stomach. She then grabbed his face with her hands and kissed him again. He ran his hands up and down her back, smirking against her lips._

Clouds now moved in and blocked the moon from sight, leaving them in complete darkness. After a few more minutes of making out, she stopped and got off of him, he made a groan of protest but soon sat up as he felt her sit beside him. She didn't say anything, but he could hear her trying to catch her breath. He reached out for her and found her close enough; he then pulled her towards him, embracing her slightly. She pulled away quickly, as if he had burned her.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have done that."

"Not to worry," he said slightly and shrugged. "Maybe it was the food…"

"It wasn't…" she muttered and stood up, arranging herself. "Good Night, Draco."

"Good Night, Virginia," he said, watching her go back towards the Manor.

**A/N**: Oh-KAY! This chapter is… odd. Why she started acting like that, you may ask? Well… confusion and, let's just come out and say it, lust. Again, Draco may seem to be slightly OOC in this story, if not a lot… please let me know if he gets TOO OOC and I'll pull him back from it. –pulls-

Hm, some people have been asking why she had to marry Draco. Let me be completely honest with all of you here, when I first thought of this story, I wanted her to have been FORCED to marry him, but I could not find a reason why. I spent days and weeks after I wrote the first three chapters just asking myself what the hell had she or her family done to make them come to such a decision. So, I put in the story that Ron had lost his memory the year before and that Narcissa had taken care of him and that she had endeared herself to him, made Lucius send them money and all the blah-blah-blah. I have that entire story done and written on separate sheets of paper, so I could guide myself towards this. But it would take way too many chapters to explain it all via story format and it really is boring information that would throw you all off interest and, quite frankly, info that you would not be interested to know.  But if you do, send me an e-mail and I will be happy to send you that. 

**Preview for the Sixth Chapter**: Fulfilled Wishes

Ginny has a chat with Hermione while shopping with her in Diagon Alley…

_"I still haven't gotten used to the whole 'Mrs. Malfoy' business."_

_"I can tell,"_

Draco surprises a half-dressed Ginny…

_"I hope you're pleased." _

_"Thank you,"_

And as always my dear muggles, witches, warlocks, wizards, elves, and all that jazz… DO REVIEW! ^_^

**~Blue Rain**


	6. Fulfilled Wishes

**A/N**: Woo! I'm feeling in a good mood tonight. Went to see "Underworld" with a couple of friends, I strongly recommend it. Okay, then, off to let you read.
    
    _Sometimes, things just seem to fall apart_
    
    _When you least expect them to_
    
    _Sometimes you want to pack up and leave behind_
    
    _All of them and all their smiles_
    
    _I don't know what to think anymore_
    
    _Maybe things will get better_
    
    _Maybe things will look brighter_
    
    _Maybe_
    
    _Sometimes, people surprise you_
    
    _And people surprise me_
    
    _But I guess that's the price we pay_
    
    _For wanting so badly –Sometimes ~LinkinPark_

Chapter Six

~Fulfilled Wishes~

"So you just jumped on him, literally?" asked Hermione Granger walking down the streets of Diagon Alley with Ginny. They were window-shopping for the moment and stopped in front of Madam Malkin's Robe shop to see some robes that were on display.

"Yes," said Ginny, adjusting her hay hat upon her ginger hair and taking off her sunglasses. "I'm telling you, Hermione, it was quite odd."

"Maybe," said Hermione and looked down at Ginny, Hermione was two inches taller than her. "Look, Gin, don't get angry, but maybe you're starting to feel something for the prick."

"He's not that bad, Hermione," said Ginny, now walking inside the shop. "He's really polite and tries to be a good husband. Why else would he allow me to bring you into the house? You know he's not exactly fond of you… you should try that peach colored one, Hermione, it would suit you well." Ginny held up a very pretty robe to Hermione and put it on top of her clothes.

"I guess he's not so bad to you," said Hermione shrugging, then looked at the robe. "It's nice. But, oh my goodness, what a ridiculous price for a robe!" She had seen the price tag that indicated that it was worth seventy galleons.

"It's alright," said Ginny and folded the robe on her open arm. Then she got a burgundy one for herself. She walked towards the cash register and put the robes on top, still talking to Hermione about things at the Manor. "But you really should come and stay one night, it would do me good, mind." Ginny smiled and turned towards Madam Malkin. "Put it on my account, if you would,"

"Of course, Mrs. Malfoy," said Madam Malkin, grinning kindly and making a note with a quill on the clipboard. She then wrapped the robes in two separate bags and handed them to Ginny. "Have a nice day, Mrs. Malfoy, I hope to see you soon enough around here."

"Uh, yes, yes of course," said Ginny, smiling politely and then walked out the shop with Hermione beside her. "I still haven't gotten used to the whole 'Mrs. Malfoy' business."

"I can tell," said Hermione, smiling. Then they walked along the alley again.

Some people, if not most of them, recognized Ginny and waved at her, calling her or prodding her in the back at times. She went with Hermione to Florean Fortescue's and sat down with a cup of Strawberry ice cream. Hermione had vanilla. They talked about Hermione's recent relationship with Harry; they had gotten together and had been so for two weeks already.

Hermione was eager to talk about the subject, but not to the point where it was annoying. She was kind enough to let out details that Ginny did not want to hear. They laughed and sighed, looking at the passers walk by. Then they stood up and shopped some more. Ginny bought a few things for herself and something for Draco, as to not look bad in front of hundreds of people that were watching her every move.

* * *

Ginny and Hermione were now inside a little restaurant in Diagon Alley called "The Magic Stick". It was a popular and not-so-cheap restaurant that was positioned next to Gringotts, the wizard bank.  They were sitting after a nice meal that Hermione had insisted to pay, chattering and laughing, they didn't become aware of a third presence beside their table.

"Oh, it's Virginia Malfoy," at the sound of her first name, Ginny looked to the side and smiled politely at a woman with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes behind stylish glasses. "Good Afternoon, Mrs. Malfoy," said the woman, "I'm Amanda Kensington, and I'm an intern for the Daily Prophet, mind if I ask you a few questions? It would really help towards credibility."

Ginny looked at Hermione, who shook her head smiling and shrugged. Ginny turned to Amanda. "Not at all, what do you want to know?"

Amanda beamed and pulled out a quill and some parchment, she placed it on the table and summoned up a chair to sit. She then sighed, tucking strands of her hair behind her ear. "Okay, then, Mrs. Malfoy, you're here dining with Miss Hermione Granger, are you two old friends?"

"Yes, I've known her for a long time, nine years or so," said Ginny watching Amanda taking notes. "Hold on a moment," Ginny said, Amanda looked up, "You were at Hogwarts with me, weren't you? I remember you; you were in my year but in Hufflepuff. We got teamed up one time in Herbology, do you remember?"

Amanda smiled and nodded, "I didn't think you'd remember that," she laughed nervously and cleared her throat. "Well, there has been controversy about you and Draco Malfoy's marriage, mind to expand the topic a bit?"

"There is really not much to tell; we got married when young so we could enjoy of a long and full marriage." She pulled one of her fake, but convincing smiles.

"Yes, we know that already," said Amanda, "But the question is: do you love him?"

"I married him," said Ginny boldly and smiling, "what do you think?"

Amanda looked rather disappointed, but then straightened up. "You haven't answered my question, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Oh I think I did," said Ginny politely and standing up, brushing her clothes. "Sadly, I have to go now, Miss Kensington, is it? I hope to see you soon, I'm sure. It was nice chatting with you. Coming, Hermione?" But Hermione was already on her feet and heading towards the door, smiling slyly at Ginny. They left Amanda writing eagerly on her piece of parchment. 

"You pulled yourself out of that one quite well, Ginny," said Hermione as they stopped on a corner far from earshot. Ginny smiled and nodded.

"I know, it was a close call, though." Ginny arranged her hay hat again and put on her sunglasses, looking around slightly. "I must head home now, though," she added looking at her watch; she kissed Hermione on the cheek and smiled before dissaparating to the Manor. She appeared on the living room. Only few could apparate at Malfoy Manor. Only those of Malfoy blood and a few others which had strict permission such as the wives, and friends from the family could apparate there. If anyone else tried, they wouldn't be able to.

She straightened her clothes and sighed, taking off her sunglasses once more as Teeny came to get the bags. "Those two to my room, and the small one to Draco's den, please," she said to the tiny elf, which nodded and left upstairs. Ginny sat down on the couch and took a hand to her temple, which throbbed slightly.

"Do you need anything, ma'am?" asked Winston, one of the ghosts at Malfoy Manor who also served as servants or as Ginny like to call them: helpers.

"Oh yes, Winston," said Ginny, smiling. "Fix me a hot bath. And Teeny," she added, addressing to her as she came in the room and Winston left through the wall. "Fetch me a cold exotic drink; I don't care which, would you?" She smiled at Teeny. "And then you can take then rest of then day off… and that's an order." She winked at the little elf, who beamed with glee and ran off towards the kitchen. 

Ginny sat relaxed in a hot bubble bath, a Piña Colada clutched in one hand. Her long hair pulled up and held with a claw at the back of her head. She enjoyed long baths; they had always been an escape for her. The door to the bathroom opened and Ginny heard footsteps which could only belong to Draco, she sighed, eyes still closed and spoke, "I'm in the middle of a bath. Use another bathroom."

"I knew you were here," she heard him say carelessly. "That's why I entered in the first place; I was looking all over for you."

She sighed once again and opened her eyes reluctantly, taking a sip of her Piña Colada and grouching a little so the water covered her shoulders. "Why, I must ask, were you looking for me?"

"Self-conscious around me are you now?" he asked, smirking and sitting on the edge of the bathtub. "I've seen more than that and you know it," he said, "Oh, and speaking of which, this Saturday starts the ten-day pregnancy period."

"I know that," she said and cleared her throat, taking another sip of her drink. "Was that what you wanted to tell me?"

"Not quite," he said, pushing his silvery hair back from his eyes. "I was told you gave Teeny the rest of the day off?"

"Yes," said Ginny indifferently, "What's it to you?"

"Oh, just wondering," said Draco slightly, "I'll have to be complacent with the ghosts then."

"You're so spoiled…" she said, allowing her shoulders to come out of the water slowly. "Pass me my towel?" she signaled to her towel, which lay on a rack nearby.

"And you're not?" he asked skeptically, she rolled her eyes as he reached for her towel and stood up. "I'll dry you." He held the towel in front of him.

"No," she said reaching her hand to grab the towel but it was too far for her to reach. "Wait until Saturday."

"Don't make a big deal out of it, Virginia, now stand up and let me wrap the towel around you." He looked at her rather menacingly but she paid no attention to it. After a few seconds of the both of them glaring at each other, she stood up, the water falling from her skin and pouring down into the now emptying tub. He smirked and stepped forward. "Good girl," he muttered, helping her step out of the bathtub and wrapping the towel around her delicately, drying her. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

She didn't answer and held the towel around herself as he smirked at her more pronouncedly. She walked towards the mirror and looked at herself in it as she always did. He watched her. She felt uneasy with his presence, to the point when she turned around to face him. "Don't watch me," she spat coldly.

"I can do as I please, Virginia," he said and crossed his arms. She scowled at him. "However, I need you to come with me,"

"Come where?" she asked. He walked out of the bathroom.

"Just follow me," he said and she did so rather reluctantly. He went up two flights of stairs and stopped before a door to his left. She, panting and clutching the towel to her body, looked up slightly.  "What do you want at the moment?" he asked, a bit anxiously.

"Well, right now I would like an explanation," she said scornfully, he glared at her slightly. "Uh… fine, I want… an inner pool?" she said shrugging, he signaled for her to open the door. She grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. 

She gasped audibly at the sight that met her eyes, it was a wonderful inner pool, with the water as blue as the sky on a sunny day. There were poolside chairs and it was so calm she could not believe it was real. She looked around, amazed, walking into the room. "This is wonderful…" she breathed, looking everywhere, "I need to lie down…" and, immediately a declinable chair appeared behind her. She sat on it, still amazed and realization dawned on her mind. "This… this is the room I asked you for!" she gasped, he nodded.

"I hope you're pleased." He turned around to leave but she stood up and ran towards him and hugged him.

"Thank you," she said idly and separated from him rather embarrassedly. He was looking at her mildly amused, but he shrugged and pushed strands of hair from his eyes.

"You're welcome, I guess," he said disinterestedly, stopping in the doorframe and leaning against it. She was still speechless, glancing around the room and touching everything as if to prove it was real. She then tightened the towel around herself again and smiled at him, it was one of the few, few times she had ever smiled at him on her own will. 

"Well," she said walking past him, "I'm going to get dressed."

"What for?" he asked, or rather demanded of her, it had caught him by surprise. He saw as she turned around, eyebrows raised and tilted her head. "The reunion… isn't it today?"

"Oh damn it!" he said, pushing past her so she was shoved into the wall slightly.

"Hey!"

"Sorry!" he called back from the hallway, not looking back, "I forgot it was today, I need to get ready. Hurry up and get ready too!"

She rolled her eyes and brushed her arm slightly. "I will never understand him."

**A/N**: There we go. You know, there's a little button down there that makes me really happy! –points to review button-

Thank you.

~**Blue Rain**


	7. The Reunion

Author's Note: Wow… I love every single one of you, and every single one of your reviews, that means so much to me, to know people actually like my writing. BUT, I don't want to get sappy and bore you all to death, so here you have the 7th installment!
    
    _What does your heart say now _
    
    _Now that we've touched, now that we've kissed _
    
    _What does your heart say now _
    
    _Now that it's come this _
    
    _Is it the same, or has something changed _
    
    _Now that we've let our guard down _
    
    _I just want to know, what does your heart say now -What Does Your Heart Say Now ~Ilse Delange_

Chapter Seven

~The Reunion~

They walked arm in arm around the terrace, greeting a few people that greeted them. Eventually, they were left alone and she let go of him, straightening her dress without need. She sighed and supported her chin on her hand, her elbow upon the stone railing as she looked down upon the family mingling and laughing slightly with each other. She felt terribly out of place.

"This is so boring," said Draco next to her, he had his arms folded on the stone railing and he too glared down at his family. "Every single reunion is this boring. Every Malfoy knows that and they dread the end of summer because of it. They just never say it because they all think that the others think this is the best event of the year. Sure… loads of money spent, but for what really?"

"You do know you're rambling?" she said smiling after he finished. He eyed her, an eyebrow raised. "It's not so boring, Draco," she said and looked down again towards the herd of blondes and a few brunettes. "They're just incredibly monotonous." 

"Same difference," he said, sighing deeply. She straightened her dress again and he looked at her. "I would say you're nervous."

"I'm not," she said, looking at him, a few strands of ginger hair falling out of place. "I can barely breathe in this corset Teeny put on me… it's too tight." 

"I can loosen it for you," he said and shrugged, she eyed him for a second. "Have it your way then." But she turned around, her back facing him. He undid the zipper slowly as she held her hair up. He undid the lace and tied it up less tightly than it was after he did all the things to put the corset properly. He then zipped up her dress and she let go of her hair, turning around to face him again.

"Thank you," she said, arranging her hair, which was in curls today. He nodded.

"I don't know why you women hurt yourselves like that," he said, resuming his position on the railing. She shrugged and leaned her back against the railing now, taking a glass from a tray a ghostly servant had brought; it had red wine with a cherry on the bottom. Draco, however, refused to take a drink and the servant soon left them alone again.

Ginny sipped idly on her wine, still leaning on the railing. There was a long silence in which Draco glared down the terrace upon the people, and Ginny concentrated her thoughts on her wine, which was deliciously sweet at the moment for her. When she finished the wine, she picked the cherry from the bottom and ate it slowly, enjoying it thoroughly and completely forgetting his presence.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw him gazing at her in puzzlement. "What?" she asked, placing the glass beside her.

"Nothing," he replied shrugging and placed a hand on the small of her back. Before she could protest he hissed in her ear, "Almost everyone is looking up at us; do act like you're enjoying yourself. They've noticed our distance this time… and they were already suspicious."

"Alright, then," she whispered back to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, looking up at him. He didn't say anything. "Well," she said, "If you don't talk, then how am I supposed to be enjoying myself?"

"Clever girl…" he said and smirked at her slightly, she blinked a bit and he shook his head. "Well, what do you call what I'm doing now? I'm talking, Virginia."

"Sure, whatever you say, Draco…" she said and smiled faintly. They were now dancing to the soft music that could be heard. They twirled on the same spot slowly and distractedly. Occasionally, Draco would twirl her or made a rather complicated-looking move, which was actually quite easy. She laughed to herself, seeing him smirk at her.

At the end, he did a classic move and dipped her; she laughed airily as he brought her back up slowly and shook her head slightly. "Well, that was fun," she said, a little out of breath from laughing.

"I guess," he said, a bit flushed in the face from the wind. They still had their arms around each other, and, out of the corner of her eye, Ginny could see a few Malfoys looking up at them.  She smirked at Draco and kissed him firmly. He was startled at first and it was a while before he started to respond to her, but he did.

It was a simple kiss; there was nothing deep, nothing passionate about it. They just kissed slowly. However, the wave of adrenaline this simple kiss brought was quite remarkable.

"Forgive me if I'm interrupting something, my dears," said a woman closing in on them. Draco and Ginny let go of each other, but Draco let his hand linger on Ginny's hand and twined her fingers with his quickly. Ginny, who was used to this, didn't do anything and merely smiled as the woman placed her hand on Draco's shoulder. "Draco, darling, your father has sent me to look for you." Draco nodded and squeezed Ginny's hand.

"I'll be back in a moment, darling," he said to her and kissed her cheek, she pulled one of her many smiles and nodded in agreement. Ginny was now left alone with the blonde woman.

The woman was very pretty and looked fairly young; she had short blonde hair that reached down to the middle of her neck, her eyes were intense blue, she was slim and had—so unlike many of the Malfoy women—a kind face. The woman smiled at her, "I think we have not been properly introduced, though you should already guess who I am." Ginny shook her head. "Oh… well, I'm Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy."

"Oh," said Ginny, shaking Narcissa's hand. She had seen her before but she had had longer hair then. She looked incredibly young. "My…" said Ginny fanning herself with her hand, "It's so hot today, wouldn't you agree?"

"No," said Narcissa shortly. Ginny raised an eyebrow. "It's considerably cooler given the other nights, my dear." Narcissa put her hands on the railing and looked down at the family members; she then gave a derisive laugh and flipped her hair with her hand, turning to Ginny. "Hypocrites… the lot of them,"

Ginny, who was gazing at the sky above, turned her dark gaze towards Narcissa. "Oh?" she said, tucking strands of ginger hair behind her ears. 

"Yes," said Narcissa with a sigh and shrugged. "They only talk about money and jewels and dresses and hair, the women. It's fairly annoying."

"I agree," said Ginny curtly.

"Yes… I tell Lucius all the time I do not wish to come to this reunion. I've been coming to it for twenty years and it is still the same monotonous people… year after year…"

"You've been married to Lucius for twenty years?" asked Ginny, a bit amazed. "You do not look as such."

"Oh, my darling, I am just thirty-eight years old. I got married at the same age you have. And I had Draco a year later, too. So, you see, you and I are very alike. Not like these other women who really did want to get married only because of the money." Narcissa gave a disgusted expression that did not suit her at all.

"Oh, so you were forced to marry too?" asked Ginny, a bit eager with the conversation. Narcissa looked at her, a bit pityingly.

"No, dear… Me and Lucius did indeed fall in love, believe it or not," she added with a smile. "I guess it is not surprising that you were forced to wed my son, a lot of the women were forced to marry as well, but they saw it as a blessing. I can see you did not think as such."

"Draco does not exactly hold a kind spot with me… he was horrible to me at school." Ginny crossed her arms. Narcissa neared Ginny and put an arm on her shoulder.

"My dear, stop living in the past. What's done it's done. I'm sure you too have some aspects of your past that you would wish to change." At this Narcissa smiled kindly. "It is a new beginning now. Oh, if I had led myself go with the past all these years I am afraid I would not be here right now, perhaps in St. Mungo's, though. It is one thing my mother-in-law told me, and that I'm telling you: the past does no good in the present, as the present gradually becomes the past. So, stop thinking about how bad you have it, or you think you do. Draco is not so bad deep down inside, do believe me, I made sure of that. You should have seen the poor dear running around this week, looking for spells to put on a room he claims to be special for you. He's trying, just give him time. But, you have to try as well, as it is a mutual thing. You're married now, you better stop thinking about only yourself or in the end it will be bad for you, not for him. My dear, when you have a child, you will not have time to think of yourself at all. Please, just try and you'll see it is not as bad as you think it to be."

Ginny sighed and nodded, smiling weakly at Narcissa, who had resumed her previous position, a hand on the stone railing and the other falling gracefully at her side as she looked down again. "I would not want you ending up as them," said Narcissa, pointing with her head at the women that were in a bunch. "I can see that you are a great person and I wouldn't want you to waste yourself as they've done." She sighed deeply. "See the symbolism here, Virginia? Here we are, looking down upon them. We are on a higher level than them, not only physically, but mentally as well. Remember that."

"Thank you," said Ginny, smiling wider now. "And thank you for the dress."

"You're welcome, dear," said Narcissa, still looking down at the people. "It looks better on you than it ever did on me. Now, you better go fetch Draco, I see a cousin-in-law of his trying to cross the family boundary in more ways than one, and you can't permit that, now can you? He _is_ your husband after all."

**Author's Note:** There we go. The button calls for you. "Press me, Press me!" You know, that button is very bossy… XD Nah, review if you want, if you liked, or if you hated it. Okay, the story has been going along with a slightly neutral relationship between Draco and Ginny, but you know me (and those who don't are about to) and I simply cannot resist the temptations of twists, and less when they come to me at 2 o'clock in the morning and I have to wake up and write them down!

**Preview of the next chappy!**

The cousin-in-law and Ginny have a quite charming encounter:

_"…it does not show very good manners to interrupt two people when they are talking… but I must have forgotten… you were raised a Weasley,"_

_"Raised as one, still am one…"_

Ginny and Draco have yet another close encounter…

_"…just don't start anything…"_

_"I was not starting anything… I was merely following…"_

There you go, people. Now, please, review!

**~Blue**


	8. The Two Intruders

Chapter Eight

~The Two Intruders~

Draco leaned against the wall, his arms crossed; Pansy Malfoy (former Pansy Parkinson, she had married one of his cousins) was flirting way too much for his appreciation. She wore a dress that was much too tight and showed too much cleavage; too much make up and too much hair spray in exaggerated blonde curls that reached down to her shoulders. She was also wearing a strong perfume that was too dizzying and nauseating.

She was talking incoherently about something that was of no interest to him; she laughed loudly, as to attract attention and occasionally pushed Draco slightly on the shoulder as if he were making jokes of some sort, but he wasn't even listening. Looking up for a moment he saw Ginny walking towards them. _Thank you_, he thought to himself. 

Ginny neared them and grabbed Draco's hand, kissing his cheek softly, "Draco, darling, I'm terribly bored," she said, "Let's go home… and I'll promise I'll make it up to you," she winked to let him now the façade, smirked and turned to Pansy and said in a very false voice, "Oh! Pansy, I did not notice you, dear! How have you been? I haven't seen you in _ages_." Ginny placed Draco's arm around her own shoulder, twining her fingers with him at the end and smiling triumphantly.

Pansy was looking disgustingly at Ginny, "I am fine," she snarled through gritted teeth. "I must inform you, though, it does not show very good manners to interrupt two people when they are talking… but I must have forgotten… you were raised a Weasley," she sneered.

Ginny's smiled faltered and her eyes flashed briefly, but she recovered rather quickly, "Raised as one, still am one, _Pansy_," she said smiling, though Draco noted the temper beginning to rise in her. "But _you_ were the only one talking, so it is not bad-mannered. Draco, if I recall, was staring boringly at the floor, which apparently is much more interesting than you." She tilted her head, still smiling and Draco suppressed a laugh. "So you see," continued Ginny, "It is uneducated to interrupt _two_ people talking, but as there was only _one_ person doing the talking… it isn't. You must learn to count, my darling Pansy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go home with my _husband_, you know. Come on, my dear, I don't want to keep you waiting," she added to Draco with a smile and gave a sarcastic little wave to Pansy.

Once inside Malfoy Manor, Draco stopped Ginny as she was about to walk up the stairs. She raised an eyebrow. "Thank you for that back there," said Draco, a bit sheepishly, very unlikely in him. "I was about to fall unconscious in boredom."

"I cannot _stand_ her," said Ginny indifferently. "But, you're welcome." She started up the stairs again.

"Are you going to sleep already?" he asked her, she turned around in her spot and looked at him oddly.

"No," she said, "I was just going to change and then take a stroll around the garden… why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted me to tell Teeny to bring you something up?" he said, shrugging and putting his hands inside his pockets causally, leaning against the wall.

"Oh," she said, "Anything with alcohol. But don't make her come up; I'll meet you in the library, alright?"

"Sure," he said and shrugged, watching her go up the stairs, holding the dress in her hands as to not drag it.

Ginny let the dress fall at her feet and gave a sigh of relief; the dress weighed a lot on her and she was relieved to take it off, she changed into a simple sky blue dress and put on her night slippers. She then made her way up to the library, humming slightly.

When she reached the library, the door was ajar and she heard voices coming from the inside.

"_You knew I wasn't going to be here tonight, I had to go to the family reunion,_" said Draco's voice, Ginny peered through the door to see Draco talking to a man with dirty blond hair. He was quite handsome. 

"I know, Mister Malfoy," said the man, "But you of all people should know how the press are… they want interviews with both you and your wife, and I've been holding them off, but you must have some public appearances and fast, or they'll start thinking something's wrong and we don't want that, now do we?"

"No…" said Draco thoughtfully. "Virginia, do come in," he said towards the door, and Ginny, slightly surprised opened the door and entered, standing next to Draco. "Virginia, this is our public relation's guy, Matthew Kinsley,"

Ginny held out her hand and Matthew kissed it, Ginny blushed a little. "Pleasure to meet such an enchanting lady," said Matthew in a suave tone and she noticed he had a Latin accent. He had honey brown eyes, simply intriguing.

"The pleasure is mine," she said smiling a little, "I'm Virginia We-Malfoy," she said, correcting herself. Draco stared from Matthew to Ginny and then cleared his throat. 

"Well Kinsley, is there anything else?" asked Draco casually. Matthew looked over some papers he had on a clipboard on his hands and shook his head.

"No, Mister Malfoy," he said and gave a wave of his wand so the papers disappeared; he then bowed to Ginny, smiled, and then shook Draco's hand curtly. "I'll be leaving now," And with a slight _pop_, he dissaparated.

Ginny stared at the spot Matthew had been in moments before as if she could still see him. She was woken from her trance by Draco prodding her on the back; she turned her gaze towards him. "The whisky is over there, on the table," he said and walked away from her and towards the bookshelves which were a little ways away, and started eyeing the books that lay inside, looking with his forefinger for one.

Ginny walked towards the table and poured herself a glass of whisky, and then went to sit at her usual chair in front of the fire. She drank a sip as she took off her slippers and withdrew her feet from the floor onto the chair. She sighed and closed her eyes as the alcohol coursed through her veins, melting away all the worries that had been inside. 

When she opened her eyes, Draco was in front of her, his hands behind his back; she set the glass on the table and looked up at him expectantly. "Close your eyes," he hissed; she looked oddly at him before doing so and felt him take her hands so she stood up. She stood motionless, wondering what this was leading to, until she felt something silky on her forehead, then down her nose and her lips, resting on them a little bit longer, she could inhale a sweet aroma coming from the silky material and she only could guess it was a flower.

The object went down to her neck and to the hollow of her collarbone, resting there in little circles. "Can you guess what this is?" came Draco's voice very close to her ear; she sighed softly and shrugged slightly.

"A flower?" she asked and heard him chuckle in her ear, his warm breath tickling her. 

"Very good," he said and she felt the flower leave her neck; she opened her eyes and eyed him; he was holding the flower to her. It was a black lily, very rare and extremely beautiful. "Take it," he said, "It's for you."

She took the flower in her hand and studied it, "What for?" she asked, still staring at the flower in her hand.

"Nothing in particular," he replied, shrugging, "Can't I give you a flower?"

"Of course you can," she said, placing it on the table, next to her glass and turning around to face him again. "Thank you." She smiled very briefly and folded her arms as if she was hugging herself. "And I appreciate what you're doing to try to make this work, Draco," she added as an afterthought, he said nothing but simply stared at her. "But do try to understand that this is very hard for me, alright?" He, again, said nothing but just nodded. 

There was a long silence which followed these words; she, still holding herself, balanced on the balls of her feet whilst he stared at a book he had in his hand. She stopped with a sigh, letting her hands fall at her sides. Draco looked over the book he was eyeing and placed the book down on a shelf nearby. 

"I'm going up to bed, are you coming?" she asked after a while, he nodded and followed her out. They walked in silence towards their room and once there they changed respectively into their sleeping clothes. She changed into her cotton, soft blue nightdress and he only put on his silken, black pajama pants. He crossed his arms as he always did and stared at her for a while.

"I feel uncomfortable with you staring at me and not uttering a word…" she said delicately, he raised his eyebrows. 

"I've had an uncomfortable day, I do not want to take it out on you," he replied dryly and shrugging. She then leaned against the wall behind her, closing her eyes briefly and sighing. 

When she opened her eyes, Draco was in front of her, she took a step forward, away from the wall, neared him and stopped when she was close to him.

Hesitantly, she raised a hand and pushed back one of his silky strands back and smoothed it with the rest. He simply eyed her hand; she lowered it slowly, as if caressing him until it reached his chest, where she stared at her own hand expressionless. He grabbed her hand and closed his around it; she looked up at him and blinked quite quickly. He massaged her hand with both of his and then kissed it hesitantly, as if waiting for her permission.

She leaned into him and placed her head against his bare chest, closing her eyes and hearing the faint thumping of his heart. She could feel him tensing up and his hands freezing uncomfortably. "Just hold me…" she whispered, pressing against him and she could feel him relax if only a little. They stayed like that for a while, she held his waist and he had his arms around her shoulders, gripping her against him in a tight embrace. She didn't have the slightest idea of why she was acting like this around him.

She pulled back for a slight moment and looked at her arms, biting her lips. She felt his forefinger and thumb under her chin making her look up at him. She shook her head very slightly, looking down. "No Draco…" she said, very aware that if he were to start something, she wouldn't stop him, she wouldn't stop herself.

It was as if something had flickered inside of her, a feeling so new that it didn't exactly scare her, but didn't relieve her either. She was too confused for her own good. She had begun to admire this man, the man she swore she would never accept in her life. And besides admiring him, she found herself thinking and dreaming of him. This did indeed scare her, but she soon discovered what it was she felt towards him.

Desire.

It ate her up inside, she wanted—longed for—him, but she would not admit it. No, she couldn't.

"No what?" he hissed and his voice brought her back to reality. He was still holding her face and she looked up at his eyes. Those translucent eyes that were half-glazed now by something she could not describe. She wanted to do so many things at the moment, and her mind was so busy sending messages and sparks to her anatomy that she did not utter a word. But she composed herself after he had stared at her for a long time, searching for an answer.

"No… just don't start anything," she said not taking her gaze off his eyes. He smirked a bit.

"I am not starting anything," he said, letting go of her face and taking a few steps away from her. "I was merely following…" 

"What do you mean?" she asked, confusion rising in her face. He was thoroughly enjoying seeing her like that.

"I mean," he said, "that I did not start anything, you did."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, crossing her arms now, looking more angry than confused. "I didn't start anything!"

His smirked widened and he looked at her before replying. She looked very—how he should put this— _sexy_; her nightdress hung loosely over her body. Her hair was starting to lose its curl and her face, framed by scattered freckles, was set into an upset mask. Her composure was feeble, she had apparently let down her guard and his words had stirred something in her.

"You started this long ago, and never finished it," he replied casually and neared her. "And you can't just leave a person like you did that night." Right now, he was very close to her. She still hadn't uncrossed her arms, and she looked at him expressionless. 

"Can't I?" she asked, her voice calm. He, still smirking, shook his head in sign of 'no'. She then smirked herself. "Watch me, _darling_." She pushed past him and got into her side of the bed. "I believe I just did again…" she said, covering herself with the sheets, he simply glanced at her. "Oh," she added, "I suggest you take a cold shower… it might cool you down." She made a gesture towards the bathroom and, smiling triumphantly, closed her eyes.

**A/N:** TOLD you, didn't I? –smiles gleefully- Oh well, you can review if you want. I was really happy with the response for the last chapter.

Preview for Chapter Nine- Deny Everything:

Ginny/Matt interaction, NOT pairing, just talking and such, kay?

_"…having to be unhappy…"_

_"But I'm not unhappy…"_

Another Ginny/Draco interaction, not quite as other ones…

_"Every chance you get… to hurt me…"_

Review, please!

**~Blue**


	9. Deny Everything

**Author's Note:** Hi! Sorry I haven't updated in some days, but school is pulling me by the hair and well… whoo. But hey, I have a test tomorrow and here I am, posting this for you people. Hey, I'm not complaining, why should you? ^_~
    
    _Here I am_
    
    _At __six o'clock__ in the morning_
    
    _Still thinking about you_
    
    _It's still hard_
    
    _At __six o'clock__ in the morning_
    
    _To sleep without you_
    
    _And I know that it might_
    
    _Seem too late for love_
    
    _All I know_
    
    _I need you now_
    
    _More than words can say_
    
    _I need you now_
    
    _I've gotta find a way_
    
    _I need you now_
    
    _Before I lose my mind_
    
    _I need you now –I need you now ~Winger___

Chapter Nine

~Deny Everything~

Ginny sat eating breakfast alone for about the hundredth time in a month. After their little concurrence that night in which she had so purposely left him all worked up, to say the least, she had not seen him quite as often. Sometimes she caught a glimpse of his hair walking by the halls, but she hadn't seen him completely. Far from bothering her, this only distraught her. Why did it, though? 

She had also been seeing more of that Matthew Kinsley bloke, walking up and down the Manor with Draco or rather—_for_ him. Ginny finished her breakfast and dropped the fork and knife with a dull clank onto the plate. She then stood up with the plate and took it to the kitchen, washing it. Now, of course there were house-elves to do this favor, and Merlin knew that Teeny was one to be willing to do it, but Ginny preferred to do it herself. She liked to do domestic work when she was distressed.

These days, she busied herself with cleaning and rearranging rooms, it was very soothing for her. She had also brought Hermione to stay a couple of days; she had at first wanted to do it to annoy Draco, but since he never even _knew_ Hermione had been there, she quickly discarded this thought and instead enjoyed Hermione's company. 

She also went to The Burrow more often. She enjoyed talking to her mother and father and seeing all her brothers again. They even had a Sunday afternoon where the whole family came and she set to meet her brothers' respective wives and children. So far she had nine nephews and five nieces. Not that she was surprised.

The last time she had seen Draco recently was three days ago, when she'd walked into the room to sleep and he'd been already sleeping. One thing was that he still slept in the same bed with her… but he always went to sleep later than she did, and woke up much earlier. She was now going to the library, and when she got there she sat down on a couch, watching rain fall on a far window.

"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy," Ginny jumped, startled and turned around, putting a hand to her chest to calm herself.

"Matthew… you scared me," she said smiling a bit. Matthew bowed; he had some folders in his hands, "What are you up to?"

"Looking for some documents for Mister Malfoy…" he said absentmindedly, searching on a file. He then placed the documents and the folders on top. "What about you, Mrs. Malfoy?" he asked, his tongue between his teeth as he looked at the documents, reading.

"You can call me Ginny, Matthew," she said, smiling faintly and standing up, walking towards the window and looking out towards the sad grounds. The rain fell now pouring. 

"Sure…" he said from behind her. He then remained silent and she could hear the rustle of papers emanating from where he was. After a while, she heard silence and felt him come up beside her, and he too looked down out the window.

"I love rainy days," he said casually, leaning against the windowsill, she smiled warmly. 

"So do I…" she replied distractedly, consumed in her own thoughts and sighing. 

"You really are beautiful," he stated and she turned to look at him, tilting her head, he merely shrugged. "It's true… I was just pointing out…" he said casually, his hands in his pockets. There was a long silence after this, in which she stared out the window again. "I bet you feel like a rainy day right now, don't you?" he said and she heard a tinge of pity in his voice, she didn't look at him, nor said anything. He went on, "Gray… cloudy… not thinking straight, perhaps. But I know what you're going through."

"Do you now?" she asked, more of politeness than of interest. She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. She then felt his hands on her shoulders, she looked at them, and as he was standing behind her, he surely didn't see this.

"Yes… being forced to marry out of pure greed from his family's part. Out of pure need from your family's part… and you have to have all that weight upon your shoulders, having to fake happiness… having to be unhappy—"

"But I'm not unhappy," she cut him off and felt his hands leave her shoulders. She gave a relieved sigh, but then he stood in front of her, holding her chin in his hand.

"You are, I can see it all over your face," he whispered, she gulped slightly, a lock of hair falling across her face. He brushed it off gingerly with one hand. "You haven't seen him for two days, it's only norma—"

"Three."

"What?"

"Three days," she said, looking down. "I haven't seen him in three days." She bit her lip absentmindedly.  Her eyes were burning with tears, though she didn't know why. She fought them back as hard as she could. She then brought her gaze up once more and was surprised at seeing him close—too close. She attempted to take a step back, but a bookshelf stood in her way. She gulped again.

"Three days," Matthew echoed. "I know you're unhappy to have such a careless husband…" he trailed off, leaning in. She flattened herself as close as she could to the bookshelf. She wanted to tell him to stop, but the shock didn't allow the words to come out of her mouth.

Someone cleared their throat and Ginny was thankful when Matthew retreated. She kept on clinging to the bookshelf, now closing her eyes and panting slightly to let the shock down. She heard Matthew mutter a feeble apology and leave the room. She opened her eyes to thank whichever of the ghosts or the house-elves was there, but she instead found Draco standing in the spot, glaring at her.

He glared at her as if she had the fault for what had—or was about to happen. She didn't think that was fair at all, and the tears in her eyes were dangerously close to spill out. She didn't want to cry in front of him… she didn't want to cry, period. 

Then she heard him distinctly, and his words were like a blow in the stomach, "Every chance you get… to hurt me…" and he walked out, his arms still crossed, leaving the same strong scent of his presence, bearing the same expressionless face, and slamming the door behind himself. She fought the tears even now, clutching her chest. She didn't know why she had gotten so emotional.

No, she had not started to fall in love with him. She couldn't! And less now that he wasn't exactly happy with her. Not happy at all. So she couldn't. She promised—nay, swore—to herself that she would hate him until the day he, or she, died. No, that was not it at all. No love.

Then again, it seemed as if he had started to see her more than just a woman he had to pretend to love. Was it possibly that he had started to simultaneously fall for her? No, it couldn't be. Why was she having such absurd thoughts?  The look on his eyes as he had said those last words was one of deepest loathing… or genuine hurt?

She couldn't hold it in anymore; she let herself slide down the bookshelf, crying freely. She cried like she hadn't cried ever since her parents had told her she had to marry this man, and she'd cried then because she didn't even want to see him.

And… bless the irony of it, she now cried because this man did not want to see her.

**Author's Note:** Merlin's Beard with Lice in it! Okay, please do review if you liked or hated. Or if you just want to say hi. =P

Preview for the Tenth Chapter, which has no name yet!

Ginny's fed up with Draco's behavior, she's tired of it all…

"_Where the FUCK have you been?! […] I'm your bloody wife, I DEMAND to know!"_

"_Did you miss me?"_

Oh… the contradictions…

"_I hate you…"_

"_No you don't…. you want me so much it hurts…"_

*And Holy God! This is an R rated story and I've just noticed there are no R scenes… how can that be?! Don't worry… next chapter'll have. –smirks- Or will it? You'll just have to wait until I post… hm… let me give you a little teaser first… so you won't hate me as much.

_…above her head, holding both wrists with one hand whilst the other found its way under her blouse… […] …moved down to kiss her neck passionately and possessively while caressing her chest under her shirt…_

*And I'll leave it there for my sake; I might give you the whole chapter if I continue… woop.

Don't forget to Review!

**~Blue__**


	10. Everything That Starts

Chapter Ten

~Everything that starts…~

The days of her pregnancy period came and went without him even trying. She had asked him sheepishly every single night, but he was never in the mood. She had started to see even less of him nowadays.  

But by now she was getting tired of it. The last stroke was when he didn't come home for two nights in a row. So the third day, she waited for him, having told all of the ghosts and house-elves that they were to inform her immediately the second he came home. 

Truth was, she didn't know why it bothered her so much that he hadn't come home. She had been worried, she'd accept it. But it shouldn't bother her they way it did. Why would she be troubled when he had made her cry? Or had she made herself cry? Either way, she shouldn't blame herself for what the egotistical bastard did. Even if he was her husband.

Then again, she could not help but feel she had been to blame in part for what had happened, after all, she had let him stay all worked up for nothing.  But that was a considerably childish thing to stay angered at her for. Now, she wasn't the kind of person with undecided feelings, she had always been very stable as to what she wanted and felt, but she couldn't help but feel vulnerable around him.

Around noon, Winston appeared in front of her. "Lady Malfoy," said Winston with an exaggerated bow, Ginny ignored it. "Master Malfoy has arrived; he is currently in his office, milady. Do you want me to tell him to come?"

"No, that won't be necessary, Winston, thank you," said Ginny curtly. "I wish to surprise him." She started to walk, but stopped when she felt the most uncomfortable chill on her shoulder, she turned round, discovering Winston with a hand on her shoulder—well, most likely through her shoulder, given that he was a ghost after all—shaking his head slightly.

"Do not be so hard on your husband, mistress, please. Remember that he will still be your husband after all…" he said in a dull, feeling less voice. 

"Oh, I very much doubt I'll even have a husband when I'm through with him, Winston, don't worry," she said carelessly as she made her way towards his office.

-----------------

She didn't even knock, she slammed the door open and saw him give a startled little jump; he had had his head down, possibly resting. His hair was ruffled, and there were bags under his eyes. He looked terrible and Ginny almost pitied him, but stopped herself before she went too far.  

She had never been in his office, but she did not take the time to admire it. Screw the details for now, she didn't need to know how the place looked if she was to commit a murder. She laughed sourly at this thought, which—unconscious as it was—was very far from the truth.

"Where the FUCK have you been?! You don't show up for two ruddy days! I'm your bloody wife, I DEMAND to know!" She yelled, saying it all very quickly. The heat was rising in her face evenly and she was determined to let out all of her anger, her frustration, her confusion, out on him.

He stood up gracefully and eyed her without the slightest hint of interest, "Did you miss me?" he sneered, his mouth twitching into a smirk. His composure and his way of talking betrayed his look. She found that extremely angering and all of her control went past boiling level.

"Where were you? Where the hell were you?!" she repeated that phrase at least a dozen times before running out of air and pausing to breathe, heaving in great intakes of air.

"At Pansy's," he said, shrugging and nearing her, who was near the almost-closed door. It had bounced back after she slammed it.

"At… her house?" she asked in a breathless and squeaky voice. A pang of something very much like jealousy crept over her and she reacted as though he had slapped her. Shaking, she became angered again, this time fuming and even finding a bit of humor that she was not puffing out smoke as it was. "I cannot BELIEVE you!"

"I didn't do anything!" said Draco angrily, pointing a finger at her and his eyes flashing dangerously, he was now in front of her. She stuck her nose in the air, reluctant to cower in front of him as if she were some child. "Unlike you, my dear, I do not throw myself at every thing that comes across my—"

He seized her wrist in midair; she had made to slap him. She raised her other hand, but he grabbed that one too and then he smirked at her, a wicked smirk she had never seen plastered on his face since her school years. He shook his head as if pityingly and pressed her against the door, it closing. She was very aware that every inch of her body was pressed against his. 

She was panting in her anger, looking—glaring at him furiously. "What are you going to do now?" he hissed, she attempted to move out of his grasp, but it was no use. She actually wondered why she hadn't sunk into the wall already.

"I hate you," she spat at him, widening her eyes slightly, he smirked even more gleefully. 

"No, you don't," he said into her ear, his breath hot on her lobe. "You want me so much that it hurts," he hissed and his hands, which were grasping her wrists, slammed them on the wall, each one at one side of her head, she winced slightly. He licked her ear sensually.

"Get away from me," she commanded through gritted teeth, though she had begun to shiver against her will. But he silenced her by kissing her deeply, forcing open her mouth with his and thrusting his tongue inside of her mouth. This was very dizzying and she actually pondered for a moment whether she should write the bastard, but the thought was quickly discarded as he began to caress her inner thighs with the knee he had between her legs. Despite herself, she gave a small whimper and felt him smirk against her lips.

He was surprised when she started kissing him back, replying with the same lust as he. He raised her hands above her head, holding both wrists with one hand whilst the other found its way under her blouse. He felt her moan into his mouth and this aroused him. He moved down to kiss her neck passionately and possessively while caressing her chest under her shirt and she rolled her head upward to give him more access.

Her adrenaline was flowing rapidly through her pulse, making her writhe under his touch. She had forgotten that he knew exactly how to touch her, since it had been so long since they'd last been intimate, but now that he was, she found that she ached for him more than she ever knew. And now, with her newfound knowledge, she got frightened, frightened of actually starting to lust after him.

"Draco!" she breathed, opening her eyes as she felt his hand under her skirt and his arousal on her stomach. She attempted to kiss him, to refrain from crying out his name, but he just smirked, not letting her whilst he licked, suckled and kissed her neck, her chest. He ravaged her with his tongue, with his lips, undoing her blouse and ripping it open. But he never let her do anything to him, for it would spoil his well-thought out plan.

He felt her shake again; her head rolling backwards as she once again cried his name out in a begging voice that almost made him lose control. He loved to have her like that, under his will and pleading. He positively enjoyed the taste of her, so long deprived from him, but now once again in his mouth. It was intoxicating, her taste, it dwelled in his mouth even if he was not kissing her. 

She shuddered involuntarily at his touch, aching more, throbbing for more, pleading, begging… She wanted him, there was no denying that now, the lust was consuming her now, drowning her…

He brought his mouth up to hers, licking her lips and kissing them from afar, taunting her, teasing her mercilessly. Then he stopped, letting go of her hands and bringing his hand from under her skirt, where he'd been fondling her. She gasped in protest.

"What are you doing?" she breathed, still hazy from the encounter as he pulled away from her and pulled her away from the door gently while he opened it. "You can't leave me like this…"

"Watch me, darling," he sneered, smirking, though his eyes were darkened by desire and he was trembling slightly. He took a step out the door, "Thank you for the fun time." And he walked out, leaving her gaping after him.

Watch him? Oh, she'd watch him alright. He was not leaving her like that.

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long. I'm slightly sick, but whatever. I hoped you liked this chapter. I have no previews for the next one, sadly. I do need opinion though, so feel free to give ideas. Thanks to all the reviewers, you make me feel special! And as always, do review.

-Blue


	11. Needs To Be Finished

**Author's Note**: Whoo! Thanks for the response! Okay, I won't bring down the rating until I finish the story, perhaps I'll get a struck of luck and produce some R rated material there. If you haven't noticed, Chapter Ten's title and this one go together, just my little joke. Thanks to all the reviewers, much appreciated! I would name you all, but they're too many. So… you know who you are. Thanks! –smiles-

Chapter Eleven

~…Needs to be finished~

Draco let the cold water run across his broad back, the frustration was welling up in him now. He'd had her there, so close, so… _willing_, and he'd stopped the fun just to get back at her. He could've had wild, passionate sex with her right then and there, against that door, but he'd let that opportunity pass just to poke fun at her. How more stupid could he be?

He knew that there had not been anything going on between she and Matthew, he also knew it had been Matthew's fault, as Matthew had come clean and said it all. However, he had felt hurt. He had not fired Matthew, for he had not the time to look for a new Public Relations guy. He had an interview the very next day for _Witch Weekly_, one of the most famous magazines in the Wizarding World, and he needed Matthew there.

Draco turned the shower off and stepped out, drying himself with a towel that was nearby. Then he put on his boxers and headed out onto the bedroom. His eyes lingered on a sleeping Ginny, looking so peaceful it was almost unbearable. Her bright flaming locks were sprawled out on the pillow behind her head, and a sheet only covered everything below her navel. She had a tank-top that was bunched up on her rib-cage, letting her stomach to be seen. 

He decided to ignore the adrenaline that now rushed through his veins and so forth made his way to his side of the bed, sitting on the edge and rubbing his forehead. He turned off the lamp, but the room still stayed lit up by the moon; its bluish glare framing the stamp gracefully. Draco sat on the bed now completely, stretching his legs on front of him and eyeing down his lap in deep thought. He felt something move slightly as he closed his eyes, still sitting, but he quickly discarded any suspicion. 

It wasn't until he felt her warm lips on his back that he knew she had been faking to be asleep, she now placed open-mouthed kisses across his shoulders and the back of his neck. He shuddered slightly, a small smirk drawing upon his features. "What are you—?" but he was cut off by her finger on his lips. She shushed him in the sweetest whisper and switched so she was in front of him, straddling him as she caressed his chest and stared at her hands as she did so. 

She then looked up at him and the cutest smirk formed on her lips, he leaned forward and kissed her gently as she in turn replied with the same gentleness. Her hands came to cup his face as his laced around her waist, bringing her as close as he could, given the circumstances. He pulled back for a moment, looking at her eyes. 

"I'm—"

"No…" she whispered, kissing him slowly, the kiss turning more passionate. "Don't say anything…" He nodded against her kiss and kindly switched to lay her down on the bed, lying on top of her. They both pulled back long enough to look at each other and smile. It was the first genuine smile she had seen on him and she was slightly amazed at how handsome and different he looked with it. 

Kissing each other again, they both ravaged hungrily one another, as if the deprival of these actions had been hell for both of them, and they probably were. In one swift movement, her tank-top was off and after a few minutes; all that remained to clothe them were her underwear and his boxers. He began to kiss his way down her body and she, moaning and sighing, caressed him.  Soon, her underwear was discarded.

She arched her back, snapping open her eyes as she felt him insert one of his fingers into her sex and she gave a loud cry of pleasure as he began to tease her and stroke her into oblivion. She clutched the sheets, and when she couldn't take anymore, she grabbed his shoulders, making him seize his movements as she gave a long shudder and released herself from the world around her. 

When everything came into focus again, he was kissing her neck passionately; she was panting loudly, attempting to get the feeling of jelly from her whole self. She smiled with cloudy eyes as his face came into her range of vision and they kissed eagerly, hungrily, the poison of passion rising up in her once again. She tugged at his boxers and he helped her get them off. 

He eyed her; her hair clung to her damp forehead, making her look incredibly arousing. He felt her body beneath his, shining with the glinting shimmer of her sweat—sweet nectar to his lips—and her hazy eyes, daring him to take the next step. He positioned himself at her entrance, not parting his lips from hers as he had begun kissing her again.

She wrapped her legs around his middle, smiling slyly against his lips, and this was all he needed to know what he had to do. He slid inside her, and heard her give a moan that sounded faint to his ears. He was so immersed in his own oblivion that he barely noticed he had to go in sync with her. But she was doing that by herself.

He completely gave in to her scent, to her intoxicating taste, to the weeks—maybe months—of repressed lust and passion, to her teasing ways that he, despite himself, enjoyed so much. He needed her now, wanted her now. He desired for this moment to last forever, that their bodies would be eternally used to one another so he did not have to face a next morning, a following path of pretend that brought him to the brink of madness every single time. Every time he increased his pace, she increased it as well, doubling his efforts, making him want to let go already. 

But he knew he mustn't, he needed to wait for her first, because it would be spoiled to go before her and he knew it. He heard her breath ragged, and his was as such too. The air in the room was thickening, not letting him breathe properly, but he was enjoying every second of it.

She wanted to be lost forever in his embrace, she wanted for his strong body to stay on hers forever, to fuse herself into him so she would never have to part from such blissful companionship. She had utterly forgotten how high he could actually take her, and it took her by surprise when she came to the knowledge that here she was, allowing herself to be taken so high. 

Oh this was so different from all the other times, but she couldn't figure out how, or why. She didn't wish to think now; it seemed useless to do such a thing that would only damage the precious moment, the sublime instant in which everything would be struck irrational. She could feel that instant drawing closer and closer as she clutched at him with all her strength.

He was now thrusting in and out of her with amazing velocity, wondering where he had gotten all of this agility. He could sense that this time it had been very different from previous encounters, perhaps because she was now responding physically to him. And she touched him and clutched at him, and caressed him, and rubbed him in all the right places. He liked when she touched him, it gave him the knowledge that he was doing everything as he should be. 

With a long cry and a shudder from each other, they reached the ultimate moment in which they left the physical world to unravel themselves into an unknown dimension that could only be experienced by both of them at the same exact time. With an arch, they fell limp against each other and exhaled a long sigh.

Still absorbed in the misty draft of their recent intercourse, Draco felt as Ginny nuzzled his back, her fingernails brushing slightly against it. She kissed the spot where his neck met his shoulder and drew her head back against the mattress, a soft smile illuminating her features. They stayed like that for a few minutes, and then he rolled off her, arranging himself on the bed to drift off to sleep. She cuddled up against him, placing her head on his chest and snaking one hand across his stomach.

He placed an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head gently as she in turn kissed his chest in curious complicity. And it was now when she could finally figure out what had been so different from previous times. 

This time they had not only had sex… they had made love.

* * *

When Ginny woke up the next day, she expected to be alone in the bed as she had been so accustomed to in the past months, but she found herself still tangled against him and she felt so comfortable that she dreaded having to stand up. She untangled herself from him and sat up on the bed. She then felt him kiss her shoulder, smiling slightly; she stood up from the bed, as he now sat up.

"Come over here, Virginia," he said, patting the bed next to him for her to sit. She tightened her sheet around herself out of custom and then sat on it, cross-legged. "We need to talk," he said, she nodded.

"We do, Draco," she replied, putting her arms on her lap and looking at him. "Why don't you start?"

"Very well," he stated and she was a bit thrown off by his tone of voice, but shrugged it off. "First of all, I am not expecting you to change your attitude towards me, and that's fine. But I do ask you to believe that nothing happened while I was staying at Pansy's house… I merely even saw her. I was actually there with my cousin Armand Malfoy. It isn't even _her_ house in the first place."

"Are you saying you're sorry?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No," he replied, in a distant voice, "I did not say I was sorry. I was merely pointing out this for you to not have any doubts whether what happened or didn't happen."

"Oh," she looked down briefly and then said in the ghost of a whisper, "Then why did you tell me you were at _her_ house? Why did you enunciate her name so much last night?" She looked up at him to find him staring at her, not saying a word. "And then so cautiously accused me of being a whore…"

"Now, those words never exited my mouth, Virginia, you know that—"

"They were about to—"

"But they didn't," he said, eyeing her. "Though I must admit, it wasn't far from the truth… And I already know you didn't start whatever was about to happen in the library that night, as Kinsley was so kind to inform me." At this he gave a grimace.

"I didn't want anything to happen, Draco, I swear… I…" she sighed in frustration and closed her eyes, taking a steadying breath. "What do you want me to say?"

"Absolutely nothing, Virginia," he said, his tone changing to a kind one. She looked at him, widening her eyes slightly. He gave her a lopsided smile, "I believe you… Either that or I _want_ to believe you, either way… let's just bury that away, okay?"

"All right…" she said, slightly dumbstruck for his change of attitude. 

"Now," he said, "I'm going to have breakfast and then go down to my office for a couple of pertinent issues I have to do. But, let's have breakfast together." He held out his hand to her.

"Of course," she said, "But I suggest we get dressed first."

**Author's Note**: A bit long… not much. I hoped you liked it. –bites nails, looks around nervously- Oh yes…  I love **simbal**'s idea! So I'm going to use it. So… thanks **simbal** for that wonderful idea. Oh, and everyone else that gave ideas, I'll try my best to incorporate them into the story, kay?

Okay, just remember that the whole point of marrying these two in the first place was for the breeding of a pureblood child.  Just a note. –winks- 

Do review, please!

~Blue


	12. A Short Interview

**Author's Note:** Terribly sorry! I hadn't counted that I had the College Board (sort of an SAT) on Saturday and then I got Writer's Block. Thus, this chapter is one of the shortest, I reckon. I promise I'll have Ch. 13 ASAP… I have a lot of work from school. Thanks to you all! And a shoutout to Greacely! ^_^ Love ya, babe. ^_~

Chapter Twelve

~A Short Interview~

Ginny wandered around the gardens of the Manor, stopping once or twice to look or smell random plants or flowered species. She stopped to smell a particularly large blue flower and smiled, closing her eyes, she then incorporated again and looked up at the Manor; she could see the West Side of it. There was the library, Draco's office, the dining room in the lower floors, and their room up several floors high, and a lot of other windows she didn't care to remember the names of. 

As she walked back towards the Manor, barefoot and with her shoes on her hands, she noticed there were people inside Draco's office, along with himself. She shrugged and began to enter the Manor; her eyes had to become accustomed with the cool dimness of the house before she could see straight. At once, Teeny came towards her and bowed deeply. Ginny told her she didn't need anything and Teeny left.

Ginny put on her shoes and arranged the loose bun she had on her wind-swept hair, and then began to make her way towards her room, walking slowly. She passed through Winston—literally _through_ him—and shivered uncomfortably. She bid him an apology and he bowed. But he called after her after she'd taken two more steps.

"Your husband is in his office, if you need something," he said in his usual dull tone, "He asked of me to inform you of that." He then gave her a piece of parchment. "This came with the post this morning, Lady Malfoy,"

She thanked him and decided took the piece of parchment. She recognized Hermione's handwriting at once. 

_Ginny,_

_Guess what?! Me and Harry… we're getting married! Just wanted to invite you and Malfoy to the wedding, you know. You'll be receiving a formal invite in a couple of days, I reckon. It'll be a small wedding, not many people._

_Love from,_

_Hermione_

Ginny smiled gleefully and made her way to Draco's office to tell him the news. She opened the door and walked inside. She saw Draco sitting across a blonde woman she faintly recognized. A little ways away was no other than Matthew Kinsley, who had looked up when Ginny had walked in and now held his gaze on hers. She walked over to Draco, Matthew's gaze becoming so intense that she shifted uncomfortably.

"Ginny, darling, you must be tired, why don't you go and rest?" said Draco, subtly noticing the exchange between her and Matthew. Ginny eyed Draco and smiled idly.

"Oh no, I'm perfectly fine," she said sitting next to him; he placed an arm around her shoulders.

"Are you sure?" he muttered, so only she could hear. "You don't have to be here, you know. It's merely a boring interview." But she shushed him with a smile and placed her hand on his knee. She noticed that Matthew had looked at their exchange then had turned around to continue doing whatever he had been doing.

The blonde woman had also watched the exchange and she was looking at them through stylish glasses and making notes on a notebook idly. Ginny now could remember the woman.

"Oh Amanda, I knew we would be seeing each other soon, remember?" Ginny said, smiling broadly and waving at her. Amanda smiled in return, nodded and began to take notes again.

The interview passed fairly quick, Amanda made questions, Draco answered, Ginny stayed silent most of the time. A couple of questions that were directed to her were easily answered, but besides that, nothing much happened. After at least an hour and a half, Amanda left, thanking them and grinning. Draco gave Ginny's shoulder a squeeze and stood up, walking over to Matthew. He looked at him.

"Well… all is done for today, Mister Malfoy," said Matthew, looking down at a clipboard. Draco let out a sigh.

"Thank Merlin," said Draco idly. "What's for the rest of the week?" Matthew looked down at the clipboard again.

"Meeting with owner of Quidditch Supplies store, to discuss the partnership and the possible buying on more stocks, but that's on… Thursday," Matthew then straightened up and closed the clipboard. Draco nodded and with a loud 'crack' Matthew disapparated. 

Draco raked a hand through his hair. "I though they'd never leave," he said turning around to see Ginny leaning against his desk, playing with her hands. She nodded vaguely and tossed her head.

Draco walked over to her and watched as she played with a strand of her hair idly, she looked up at him and smiled. He smirked back. She propped herself up and sat on top of the desk and motioned him to get closer. He raised his eyebrows and did so; she reached out her hands to take his and smiled as he planted a small kiss on her shoulder.

Her hands twined her fingers with his and she kissed his jaw line, nuzzling him and grinning. He let out a small chuckle before giving in and bringing his lips down upon hers, ravaging her mouth completely. She giggled as he leaned over her so that she now lied on the desk, her arms around his neck as they kissed. Their kisses became considerably deeper. He began to nuzzle her neck. She let out faint chuckles.

"Oh…" she breathed, "I forgot to tell you… Hermione… oh, Draco, let me talk… Hermione and Harry are getting… getting married—" she was cut off by his lips on hers again. He smirked against them. She raked her hands through his silky hair and he groaned into her mouth. He bit her bottom lip affectionately and very softly.  

"Well, I do hate to interrupt this _lovely_ scene. But I desire to talk to you, Draco," Both Draco and Ginny drifted apart and Ginny sat up with a jolt. 

Pansy Parkinson stood in the doorway.

**Author's Note**: Dundundun? Not quite. Not really a cliffhanger… I think. I thank you all for you patience. And do review if you want. ^_^!

~Blue


	13. More News

**A/N**: Sorry it took so long! I've been really busy… and then lazy too…

Chapter Thirteen

~More News~

It's amazing how things can change in just a second. Whatever you thought about some person can shatter at your feet with a mere word that can come out of their mouths. When Ginny heard Pansy said she needed to talk to Draco, she wasn't aware that the previous statement was about to come true; and how. 

Draco said that whatever she needed to say she could say in front of Ginny, Ginny straightened up, smug and placed one hand on Draco's shoulder. However, Pansy looked less than pleased. Her face fell very slightly, but she regained her composure rather quickly with an elegance Ginny had never seen in her. And Pansy did indeed look different this day; however Ginny didn't know that this mirrored what she would say. Pansy, we dare say, looked normal; her hair was in soft blonde curls, falling on her shoulders; she wasn't wearing any make-up at all, but she seemed to not need it much. Indeed, she looked much, much prettier than she usually did. 

For a minute, Ginny thought that perhaps Pansy had put on an innocent façade, thus wanting to get to Draco, but that thought was quickly discarded as ridiculous. Besides, if Pansy did want to get to Draco, what should it mean to Ginny? Was she not forced to marry? Yes, she was. She needed to remember this more often.

But perhaps it was Pansy's vulnerability which left Ginny at bay, which did not make her think that she should be suspicious of this encounter. She wasn't. 

Pansy straightened up, "Very well," she said, a plain look of surrender on her face. "I am here to discuss the Potter-Granger wedding matter."

"What about it?" Draco seemed unperturbed. Ginny however, had widened her eyes at those words.

"We need to choose where to hide, Draco," said Pansy through gritted teeth. "You out of all people in this know that we must do everything that is in our power—"

"What do you mean by that?!" Ginny half-yelled, Draco eyed her.

"To _protect_ them," finished Pansy, louder over Ginny's yell. Pansy scowled. Ginny felt that last statement as if unreal. _Protect_ Harry and Hermione? From what, she wondered. But why would Pansy, out of all people want to protect _them_. Were they not her enemies? She looked at Draco and saw him still unperturbed, having shrugged.

"We'll talk about it later, Pansy," said Draco ushering her out the door. "Do me a favor, though, and send Armand my greetings." He closed the door and walked over to Ginny, raking a hand through his hair. Ginny was still dumb-struck. "Protect them from a supposed alliance of Death Eaters wanting to take their revenge. It's nothing big, really," said Draco, having noticed her silence, "All of them have spent quite some time in St. Mungo's and Azkaban, they're all mentally disturbed. They'll use spells like 'Rictumsempra' and those ridiculous second-year magic. The most damage they'll do is giving Potter a bad case of dancing ears…" Draco chuckled at this. "In which case I should let them do their work, no?"

Ginny eyed him sarcastically, newly relieved. "But why must you go and do such thing, if they won't do much damage?"

Draco leaned against the desk. "Because they need to put the loonies back in St. Mungo's, mind you."

"Oh," said Ginny, nodding and stretching. She hopped down from the desk. 

***

Two months later found Ginny in a bed; she was sick. She thought she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't even remember how her sickness started, but she had been reluctant to get a Healer there. At long last, Draco saw her getting worse and he made a Healer come and see what was wrong with her.

Ginny sat in the bed, her hands carefully at her sides, looking at the door. The Healer had just walked out of it and she had heard her diagnosis. She gulped, not knowing how or when to react.

Draco came in, looking slightly anxious; he sat on the edge of the bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Ever since Ginny had started being sick, Draco had turned papers completely, he wished to fulfill her every whine and command. She found in oh-so-good, but of course she had found this behavior quite strange. Having spoken to Narcissa about it, she had said that Lucius was exactly the same. Malfoy men are like that, Narcissa had said, they overprotect their property. They did not want to have anything "damaged" much less sick. Supposedly it ran in their blood or something like that, Ginny hadn't been really conscious either when she had spoken to her mother-in-law. 

Draco eyed her, he didn't say anything and Ginny took a deep, steadying breath. She looked straight into his eyes. He questioned her with his eyes and she sighed. Her eyes welled up with tears because she wasn't blinking. Then her voice came like a trembling sort of tone, "I'm pregnant."

**Author's Note:** There we go… most of you asked for this. Yes, short chapters from now on. There's only like three chapters left for this story, I think. As always people, Read and Review, please! I'll give you a cookie! I won't guarantee it'll get there good, though.

Konnbanwa!

-Blue


	14. New Expectations

**Author's Note**: A BIG humongous thanks to the lovely **Greacely** for the title of this chapter. This chapter is quite… er... fluffy to say the least. I think I lost Draco into OOC-ness now. But I really shouldn't care. I mean fan_fiction_ In other words; I can do whatever I like with the characters. =P As always, thankls to EVERYONE who reviewed… because you make me feel special and loved. –blush- Thank you! And cookies for everyone! –hands 'em out-

Chapter Fourteen

~New Expectations~

She was pregnant.

He had achieved what he wanted to do ever since he married her. Well, rather, what he had to do ever since he married her. He was going to be a father now, and he liked that thought very much. He had it all; money, a wife, and an heir in the way. It's curious how sometimes we seem to have everything we've ever wanted, but deep down, we know it is not enough.

And that was exactly what he felt: empty.

Now, it wasn't a matter of life or death—, who knows, it could be— but still, he didn't like to feel that way. And besides, was he right or not, Malfoys are simply not supposed to feel. Period. 

It was all her fault, really. From the moment he'd seen her walk down that aisle, her face set in anger, he knew the hell that awaited him at the other line. However, the hell he had been expecting was one of arguing and anger. He did not expect, nevertheless, that the so-called hell he thought would be in store for him was himself.

Simple as that.

Now, now, of course those were indeed confusing thoughts. But they were the only things that kept him sane during their short marriage. Why was this? He feared that he may have indeed begun to feel something for the woman that now bore his child. What he didn't even suspect, however, and what he simply did not know, is that she had the same exact thoughts as he did. But let's not go into that right now.

She had come into his life unpredictably. When he left Hogwarts, he thought he would be seeing the last of her and her family at last, at least on a daily basis. But then, that summer, while Potter and his squad played the little heroes as always, in came Brother Weasel without any memory. And Draco's mother, Narcissa, had done everything she could to get him to react again. She even made Lucius send them alimony! An unthinkable thing. Lucius must've really loved Narcissa if he did something like that. And that was what had precisely scared Draco; that his father could love. 

That meant, now, that Draco was capable of doing so as well. He never thought it would be possible, and at that time, he had been repulsed by the thought. And when he thought things could not get any worse, his father came with the news that he had to marry either Millicent Bullstrode, the closest to a human troll, mind you, or the littlest Weaselette herself. Needless to say, it hadn't been a hard choice.

Some may have called him shallow, but if he went deeper… let's just say Millicent was troll out… troll in. 

Not that Ginny was an angel herself… but consider the other option, he had said to himself. He was also rewarded by the thought that at least she was pureblood It was not as if he had to marry Granger... he had shuddered at the thought, and let's be honest, he still did.

Now it would be nine months of hell, really. He had to aid and be on hand and foot of this woman who was going to become a screaming, wailing, and mood-swing machine. And for what really? So another screaming, wailing, mood-swing machine came out of her! Scary, no?

At least other husbands had to look forward to more intimacy with their wives, but he didn't. Well, they only needed one heir, and that was the excuse for making love in the first place. Now that the child was on the way, there was no excuse. 

True, the long months of trying had not bothered him at the least. If only a little, because almost every time she had never responded physically to his actions. Well, some times she did respond physically and he could tell, obviously. He had enjoyed that time, though, when she had herself started it and finished it. It was one of the few times, counting those afterwards, of course, that she actually fore played with him and kissed him back and they really had a true love-making experience.

It had been the most fulfilling one.

Now, while there may seem to be a fine line between love-making and sex, there really isn't. Love-making involves actions and reactions; in layman's terms, it's all about foreplay. While sex… well, sex is just something done to get out of it quickly, there are almost no feelings involved, except that one of lust, which is always there; no matter how much we try to hide it.

He enjoyed having her beneath him, writhing and calling out his name; pleading him. And the best of all, it was on her own will. He took those moments to memorize every corner of her body, for if they were not to be anymore intimate, then he would remember that he had once had her for him. He had never possessed her, for you cannot possess anyone, really, but he had had her there, with him—for him—loving him in her own way. Even if it wasn't real love and just a bit of lust combined with deep affection.

It wasn't that he was upset with her being pregnant; the thought just opened a million of new possibilities he'd rather not think about at the moment. It was just so simple to let his mind carry out his thoughts.

He watched her now; she was frowning and looking down at her lap. He wondered if perhaps she wasn't pleased that she was pregnant or if something was bothering her. He voiced his thoughts. "No, it's not that," she answered him after a long pause. "I'm just a bit nervous. And I didn't know how you would react." He smiled at her and kissed her brow briefly, and she understood what he wanted to say.

He was happy with it.

But the no-sex thought did indeed bother him a bit yet. He decided to experiment with it. "I guess that means no sex from now on," he said with the air of someone careless and joking about something like that. She looked up at him and tilted her head, her face becoming sarcastic all of a sudden.

"I'm pregnant, Draco, I don't have a venereal disease."

He wasn't sure what she meant by that so he didn't pursue the subject.

***

It was night, the house was as cold as always and they were now in the living room, each doing a particular thing in front of the fire. She was drawing on her drawing notebook, doing lines here and there, scribbling from time to time; the firelight illuminating her features, making her brown eyes seem much brighter and her flaming hair seem as if it belonged to the flames. 

He had been writing some financial reports, but he had tired of it and let it aside. He now looked at her; she had stopped drawing and had closed her notebook. She then looked up at him, gave him a small smile and moved over to where he was.

They remained in a comfortable silence for a long time, each looking as the fire gave cracks now and then. She was the one to break the silence first.

"Can you believe it? I'm… pregnant with your child." He looked at her; she was looking down at her lap, her hands twined. He merely raised his eyebrows and gave a small nod, which she saw by the corner of her eye. 

After a few seconds, she stood up and brushed her nightgown gingerly, taking far too much time in doing so. He stood up as well and looked down at her. She didn't look at his face, it was getting slightly annoying. He tilted her head up with his hand and raised an eyebrow. "You are too odd, Virginia, what is happening?"

She lowered her gaze. "Nothing," she said, shrugging.

"There you go again, not looking at me," Draco sighed, Ginny darted her eyes up to him again; he could read confusion in her eyes, and perhaps a bit of fear. Two things he'd never seen before in them. He tilted his head at her and questioned her with his eyes.

"Sorry," she muttered, staring at him. "I feel… too confused at the moment." She wrapped her arms around him. He was slightly taken aback and did not reply her embrace. She pulled back, confusion in her face and stared up at him. 

In one swift movement, he cupped her face and kissed her. She gave a low moan and kissed him back, equaling his own kiss. His other hand snaked around her waist as her hands wrapped around his shoulders.

This time, it was she who backed him up against a wall. He smirked against her lips and she gave a small giggle. He then shifted until she was the one pressed between the wall and his body. He nibbled her lower lip.

"Draco," she breathed, almost smiling and enjoying the sensation of both his mouth on her lip and his body pressed against her own. He smirked once more and stopped to look at her. "Don't stop," she said, pulling him to her once more.

He made a mumbled sound and nodded very slightly, closing his eyes.

Clothing was discarded quickly, absentmindedly. Letting themselves be guided by instinct, they forgot all about everything else that surrounded them. They forgot every warning that their brains shot out. It was euphoria, their bodies melting together once more. Out of pure lust, pure need, and pure want. 

Indescribable.

***

They lay on the cold stone floor, still feeling the dried sweat clinging to every limb. She cradled his head and caressed his damp tresses of silvery hair, stroking her fingers through each strand slowly. Her other hand was upon his bare translucent back, sliding from time to time because of the sweat. 

Their breathing was ragged, they were calming down after one instant of pleasure, and then another, and then another even.

It had been endless this time; their bodies had fused as they never had done before. Perhaps it was because she now carried life inside her womb. Perhaps it had just been lust. Who knows? All they knew right now is that there was silence.

He could only hear the beat of her heart; he wanted to hear that sound again and again. He would soon hear two different beatings in her. And if he was lucky, perhaps they would be going at the same rhythm as his. Hers was now, but the child that was growing inside of her had not yet a heart, he had not anything yet. He would soon.

It would be a boy, Draco was certain of it. There was a spell placed upon every Malfoy boy, the ability to only be able to make boys inside their respective wife's womb. He would need to decide a strong name for him, but that would be later.

He felt her sigh and he took the hand that had been on his back and laced his fingers with hers. He saw her smile out of the corner of his eyes and she gave him a kiss on top of his head.

Both of them were too comfortable to break the silence, or even move rather. If someone were to walk into the living room, so be it. 

**Author's Note**: Liked it? Hated it? I hope you liked it. o.o For those wondering, yes, you can have sex while you're pregnant. I did extensive research on that before putting it there. Should I beg? Can I beg? Oh… I don't want to sound desperate… but you can leave a tiny measly review can't you? –grins- Thanks! 

~Blue


	15. A Visit to the Burrow

**Author's Note:** Extremely literal title, I know… Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter, one of my favorites, I say. It took me a long time to write, so sorry for the wait. I hope y'all will find it good. And THANKS to all my reviewers! I love you guys, you make me feel loved and special. I'm almost at 250. –squee-

Chapter Fifteen

~A Visit to the Burrow~

The months passed and her belly grew slightly, it wasn't too big. Now, with a six month pregnancy and a ten month marriage, things were actually calmer. She had an unspoken connection with the baby inside of her and she enjoyed spending hours at a time just touching her belly with her eyes closed, a content smile on her face and communicating with her child.

Draco had changed considerably towards her; he aided every little whine she had and stood by her in her ever-constant mood-swings. And most of all, he seemed to enjoy it. 

Her pregnancy had been made public and photos had been taken for publicity. Her mother-in-law had come over to visit and had congratulated her. And Ginny had owled her mother to tell her the news. Now they would come to a dreadful thing; to go to the Burrow to visit; both her _and_ Draco. Her mother was desperate to see her, but would not set foot inside Malfoy Manor. She was also a little resented that Ginny had not visited her at the Burrow for a good four months. 

Ginny remembered a good week ago when she'd gone to the Mediwitch for her bimonthly tests to see the well-being of the child. The Mediwitch had said everything was in order and that they would be in store for a good healthy boy. Draco had already decided on a name, Ormand Favian Malfoy, which meant Brave Snake Man. Typical.

Now, Ginny was getting dressed to visit her mother. She was halfway through her sports bra when Draco came in the room. She looked at him through the mirror and flashed a smile. He neared her and kissed her shoulder, placing one hand on her belly and rubbing it. She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her back against his chest slightly. 

They stayed like that for a few minutes, in a comfortable silence. They had become nicer to each other now, almost as close friends. They made subtle exchanges between themselves privately now, not only publicly. 

"How's our little Ormand?" Draco asked, still rubbing her belly.

"Hmm, kicking as usual," said Ginny opening her eyes and smiling. "He always gets excited when his father comes near,"

"You say it as though he knew that happened," said Draco, kissing her cheek chastely. She curled up a hand in his hair.

"He does," she said shortly, then brought down her hand again. "I need to get dressed."

He let her go reluctantly and she could finish dressing, she put on a simple, dark green dress that would normally go down to her knees, but now, because of her propounding stomach hiked up to the middle of her thigh, and some black shorts. She put on some comfortable slippers and braided her hair magically. She applied only lip gloss and decided to go natural.

When she was done, Draco, who was already dressed in a casual black tee shirt and dark blue denim jeans, nodded at her, he took her hand, and they apparated out of the Manor and to the front of the Burrow.

She saw Draco flinch slightly and eye the house appraisingly; she grabbed his hand in hers to let him now it would be alright and walked to the front door, through the front yard. She stood before knocking eyeing the house.

She smiled at the memories the house brought. She actually closed her eyes, feeling the warmness of the house that had been her home for so long and that still felt like her home. Despite that she had another place to claim for home now.

She opened the door and walked in; she knew her parents always left the door unlocked during the day. She took in the asymmetry of the living room. She saw the clutter there had always been there, the toys, things, muggle collections from her father. She smiled at the bright sunshine that came in from the undraped windows.

She let out a content sight and then, still holding Draco's hand, walked into the kitchen.

Her mother was there, her back to them, and adhered to the stove as always. Ginny smiled. Her eyes traveled over to the clock on the wall and begun to tear-up when she saw that the arm belonging to her name indicated "Home". Ginny was too emotional these days.

"Smells so good in here. But of course, it is for your favorite daughter." Ginny grinned as her mother turned, gave a load squeal and ran over to her, hugging her tightly. She then began to fawn all over her, touching her belly.

"Ginny, dear! Oh, how is the baby? Is it a boy or a girl? I hope it is a girl. Oh, another girl Weasley would be so marvelous! How are you feeling? Do you want anything? Are you cold? Warm?" her mother was barely breathing. Ginny laughed at this and shook her head, holding up a hand.

"Mum, mum please, I'm alright." She sighed contentedly and placed a hand on her back to support herself from the weight of the baby. "And… it'll be a boy." 

"Oh," Molly's face fell slightly, but her smile did not fade. "It's quite alright. All the Weasley boys are great. One more won't do damage." Draco cleared his throat slightly and Molly appeared to just have noticed him. "Oh… Draco… how are you… dear?" Molly seemed quite distant now. Ginny looked at her warningly.

"It'll be a Malfoy too, Mrs. Weasley," said Draco, crossing his arms. Molly smiled a bit.

"I know that, dear." She walked over to the stove again. "I hope you're hungry. I've prepared lunch."

"Oh," said Ginny, her eyes lighting up. "I could eat for two."

***

After an extremely good meal, Ginny, Draco, and Molly sat in the kitchen table still. The dishes were doing themselves and Molly had spent the last half hour asking Ginny questions about the baby.

Ginny enjoyed her mother's company, but she had noticed how cold her mother was to her husband. It came as no surprise though, as she knew very well that she resented him for breaking her daughter's future. Even if it wasn't his fault.

Ginny heaved a long sigh now and took a hand to her stomach as the baby kicked gleefully. Molly quickly did the same and smiled with mirth at Ginny. Her mother, Ginny knew, would love that baby very much. It would be her first grandchild. Coming from her youngest child, too. Ironic, to say the least. Ginny rubbed her stomach idly, smiling and staying in silence for a long time.

Molly now spoke to Draco, extremely formally, they talked about things and how they were going at the Manor. About the business and casual stuff that only strangers talk about. Ginny frowned to herself, she would like her family to acknowledge that Draco really didn't have the fault for what had happened; he was just merely completing the fate he was placed upon when he was born.

Nevertheless, Ginny had yet to wonder when exactly had she forgiven Draco. It had been very sudden, like an unspoken agreement between both of them. It had happened some time along the months of her pregnancy. It had brought them increasingly closer. 

The life she now carried was everything to her. How could she possibly love someone so much, if she hadn't even seen them? She was silent most of the time now. Almost always in silent communication with her child. She enjoyed it.

It was amazing how much she seemed to care about her husband now. She wondered…

_No, it can't be, this baby is just making me feel too vulnerable._

**_Is it? Maybe you're just _****unconsciously_ letting out that you truly—_**__

Don't_ even say it…_

Ginny looked up at her mother and her husband, who were looking at her in silence. She understood that they had nothing else to talk about and sighed. She then engaged her mother in a conversation about Ron, Harry, Hermione and all her brothers. And Molly, of course, began talking excitedly.

***

Some time along the long conversation with her mother, Draco had gone out of the kitchen and Ginny saw him go into the backyard. Her mother then stood up, looking at the clock out of custom. Ginny's hand pointed to _Home_, as well as Ron's, Percy's, and Charlie's, but she knew that they were not at the Burrow, rather in their respective houses or flats now. Her father's pointed to _Work_, as did Bill's, Fred's and George's.  "I have to send a couple of owls, dear." Molly caressed her face and kissed her forehead. "Don't leave; I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Ginny nodded and watched her mother disappear up the stairs. She then walked out of the kitchen out onto the backyard. Draco was leaning against the side of the house, his arms crossed and looking out onto the pond nearby. Ginny walked over to him quietly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Your family will keep on hating me… even if I'm part of it now," he said in a careless tone, though Ginny knew otherwise. He uncrossed his arms, letting them fall at his sides.

"They don't _hate_ you," she said, Draco shot her a sarcastic look, "Well… yes, they do. But they'll understand eventually. Stubbornness runs in our blood." She cupped his face with one hand. "Don't give it any thought, Draco."

"It does not really bother me…" he trailed off, as if he knew the look she was giving him meant that she knew he didn't mean that. He inhaled and so did she; the April scent of spring was crisp and fresh and she enjoyed it. Spring was barely starting. That scent, mixed with the early evening mist, comforted her and almost lulled her.

The sky was a navy color now, gradually fading to a yellowish color to which the sun set into. Draco gathered Ginny in his arms, wrapping them around her middle and rubbing her belly slightly. Ginny leaned her head against his chest and smiled. 

He rocked her in his arms and they stayed like that, eyes closed, for quite a long time. She felt very comfortable in his arms; it was the only time in which her mind would stop and it would become blissfully quiet. Everything was quiet around them now, the only sounds coming from bird callings or the occasional owl hooting.

After a few minutes, he sat down on the ground and beckoned to her to do the same. She sat down between his legs, which came to resta at either side of her, bended upward, his feet flat on the ground. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

She watched the sun set in the horizon, staining the sky with a now pinkish color. Dusk was always her favorite time of the day. She liked the finality of it and also the hint that as something ended, something else started.

What would happen now? She wondered how this would change her life and her relationship with Draco. She always thought that it would be much, much easier to hate him in peace. She wanted to resent him and to blame him for ruining her life. Upon pondering, however, she indeed realized that he had not ruined her life at the least.

In fact, to say the least, she was more or less happy. Happier than she'd been in years' time, mind you. She had yet to wonder, still, what exactly he was expecting from her. Given, she had already given him the heir he wanted; well, it was still on the way. But she feared on what would happen once the baby was born.

They would probably raise him together, but that would be it.

Truth be told, she enjoyed Draco's company, just like he seemed to enjoy hers. But she wasn't really sure if he was just pretending it so she would not snap at him. She very well knew how moody she could get at times, and being pregnant did not help.

Sure, she glowed, but if people looked closer, they would see that that glow resembled the trace of sweat left after the constant nausea. Yes, her eyes looked brighter, though it may just be the lack of sleep that made her get a sadistic glint in her eyes.

But she shouldn't think about that; she seemed to have found inner peace, and that was all that mattered. 

She was pried from her thoughts at the feeling is his hands in her hair, undoing each braid delicately. She shivered very slightly at his touch, though it may have been the sudden evening breeze. He then pushed her hair to one side completely and began placing delicate kisses on her shoulder and neck. After all, he knew that was _her_ spot. 

She smiled and closed her eyes, thoroughly enjoying the moment and letting her thoughts disappear in her mind. His hands rubbed her arms slightly, sometimes caressing. 

They were completely oblivious, however, to Molly Weasley, who had come down and had gone to look for her daughter and then had come upon the little scene. She was moved, to say the least. She never thought it was like that between her daughter and that Malfoy boy. She took a hand to her chest, tilting her head in understanding. 

A smile crept upon her features as she went inside again, closing the door soundlessly.

Ginny craned her head to look at him; he was still placing small kisses along her outline. His hands slid all the way down to hers and she laced her fingers with his absentmindedly. The baby kicked lovingly and Ginny took one of Draco's hands so he could feel it.

Draco had never felt his son and he smiled at the movement inside of her stomach. She was looking at him past her shoulder, smiling. She'd never looked happier or even prettier than she did at the moment.

"Ginny," he said, not realizing he had called her by her nickname. However, she realized it and widened her eyes in mild surprise, but still smiled.

"Yes, Draco," she said softly, her voice not breaking the delicate silence that surrounded them. "That is your child in there." She smiled. "_Our_ child,"

He smirked at her. He knew that already. He nuzzled her neck playfully and heard her emit a giggle. He liked to hear her laugh; it was such a sweet sound coming from her. 

_This is so cheesy_, he thought, chuckling. _But you enjoy it_, said another voice in his head. Oh well, he had to admit **that**. 

He looked into her eyes now and fought down the urge to get lost in them. He didn't want to get distracted at the moment. He took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally. He was very aware of her puzzlement. He then stared at her eyes, still playing with his hand above her stomach and the other twinned with hers. And then, he spoke.

"I love you."

**Author's Note:** -avoids objects thrown for such a crappy and cheesy chapter- Hey! At least it's not a cliffhanger. And it's quite a long chapter for your enjoyment! ^_^; I hope you like it ; -nervous- What can I say? I like fluff! Come on… admit it, you do too! You know you want to. –winks- This is the part where I beg for a review. REVIEW! Woo! ^_^

Oh yeah, guys, I've made a website, though it is still under construction, I'll give you the link another time. Oh... and you should visit my Writer's Journal. There you can see when I update and my ideas and such…

**www.greatestjournal.com/users/_bluerain **And you can comment in it as well. It's a more direct way, you know.

~Blue Rain


	16. Love Is Just A Word

**Author's Note:** Horrid title… I know. But it's this chapter's title and that's what counts. I hope you like it. And um… thank you all for the awesome response to the previous chapter! I love you all! ^________^ 

Chapter Sixteen

~Love is just a Word~

Ginny jerked her head to look at him, raising both thin eyebrows high and tilting her head. She then stood up from his arms quickly—rather difficultly, but managed to after several seconds—and glared at him, her mouth slightly parted in surprise.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand to silence him and he closed his mouth again. "What are you playing at?" she snapped rather angrily. "You don't need to say that to me just because I'm pregnant! I don't need your sympathy, Malfoy." She spat the name as she had done in her school years. 

And to think, it only had been two years before.

He looked at her, knowing that she hadn't understood what he meant. He knew he had taken that woeful step for nothing now. She was still looking at him. And she looked, if possible, even more beautiful under the moonlight, as her hair glowed in its silvery glare. And it matched her dark glare, now directed to him. 

"I still stand by what I said when we were married," she said in a finality tone, "I do not love you, or like you."

She then turned on her heel and stomped out of sight, leaving a flabbergasted Draco Malfoy behind.

***

Ginny was walking around the gardens at Malfoy Manor, hoping to get lost in them. She dreaded having to go back upstairs to sleep. Who did he think he was?! He was _playing_ with her, that's what he was doing. No way in hell he loved her.

It had been a lie; a cruel mistake that came out in a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, she knew it. He wasn't going to fool her. He wasn't going to make her fall for him. Merlin! He wanted even more publicity now? What did he want from her?! 

He already had her for a wife, he'd been in her so many times she had lost count and now she bore his child. He had money, fame, everything! Then what the fuck did he want?! Was he out of his mind? _Oh…_ she thought angrily, _I will_ not _give him the pleasure of making me fall for him_. She paced around the same spot once, then again, and then again. She walked backward and forward angrily, not knowing what to think.

She was so… confused now. Not because of what he had said, although that did confuse her a little. But now… now she was afraid that she might, _could_ indeed…

_Don't even_ think _about it, Virginia Weasley_, she reprimanded herself.

No! She was so young; she had all her life before her. Yes, her life had been ruined and now she fully blamed it on him. It was _his_ fault. _He_ was her husband. _He_ got her pregnant. _He_ made her lose all her dreams. It was _him_ for which she had had to give up her hopes. And she resented him. All the unshed anger came back up slowly, boiling her veins as liquid fire instead of blood.

She felt the anger rise in her, and she felt dizzy. Before she knew it, she fainted.

***

She woke up by someone rubbing a damp washcloth to her forehead and she opened her eyes. Oh great… her vision was blurred. She blinked a couple of times before finally making out Draco pressing the washcloth to her head. She attempted to sit up, but he held her back.

"Don't strain, it will not do good to the baby." His voice was cold and distant now. She saw a faint ray of sunshine peek through the closed drapes.

"How long have I been unconscious?" she blurted out absentmindedly.

"Three days," he said carelessly and seized his cloth pressing actions and standing up from the edge of the bed. He crossed his arms and looked at her with a tinge of something in his eyes, but it faded instantly. "The Mediwitch said that it was quite normal. You had an over… overdose of emotion or some bullshit like that? I don't know." He cleared his throat. "The baby is alright and that is all that matters. You'll be into your seventh month soon, she said. I suppose you'll know what that means. Oh and… I found you."

She nodded and twiddled her fingers nervously. "About the other night—"

"I don't want to hear it," he hissed rather defiantly and she was painfully reminded of how he was at Hogwarts. "Once you have the baby, I'll see what I'll do with you."

She looked up at him in horror. What exactly did he mean by that? He must have seen the question in her expression for he said, "Well, we can't be under the same roof if you do not like me. I'll set up arrangements for you, but quite later. After Ormand does not need to breast-feed, we'll see."

"But—"

"_You said it, not me," _he snarled quite loudly and she cowered a bit. She didn't like to see him like this. It frightened her.

"You must understand that I get… moody," she said in a tiny voice, blinking quickly. She was feeling very emotional at the moment. Her eyes started to burn with tears.

"I've had it with that," he stated easily. "You're always moody, you snap at me when I do nothing! You snap at me when I'm nice! When I'm honest… when I'm… forget it."

"I'm _pregnant_! _You_ got me pregnant, now face the consequences!" she almost-yelled, slightly agitating.

"You didn't complain too much when I was _getting_ you pregnant," he growled. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I quote, '_Draco_!' Or maybe I need an ear check." He smirked his all-too-known trademark smirk at her.

"I _hate_ you!" she spat, tears now spilling from her eyes shyly. "Once the baby is born, I'm leaving! I don't bloody care about your fucking publicity! And I'm taking the baby with me!" Her breathing became labored now.

"You can leave, but he stays with me!" spat Draco menacingly, pointing a finger at her and then at her belly. "Even if I have to pry him out of your hands, he'll stay in Malfoy Manor, with his father!" 

She was now breathing in short, broken gasps as tears spilled freely. "I… I _hate_ you." She gave a dry sob.

"No you don't," he said and she could hear his voice calm. She glared up at him, though she couldn't exactly see him because of her tears.

"Yes I do!" she managed to yell and he walked forward and began to dry her tears gingerly. Not knowing what she was doing, or _why_ she was doing it, she flung her arms around him and cried into his chest uncontrollably. He caressed her back and hair gently. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Draco…" she said muffled against his chest. "I don't want to leave…" she said softly.

He kept on caressing her and comforting her, rocking her in his arms slowly. He lay down next to her in the bed and she still clung to him as if she were clinging on for dear life. Her sobs had subsided now, but he still held her against him. She inhaled his scent; the scent that had become so known to her, yet so unusual.

She felt safe, protected. Even if he had yelled at her, she knew he didn't mean it. She had seen it when he had yelled and now he whispered to her the confirmation to her thoughts. She nodded against his chest and placed a kiss on it. She then curled up against him, tangling a leg with his and falling quickly asleep.

***

****

****

A month had gone by since the whole argument. Now Ginny walked around—or rather, waddled around—with her seven-month belly. Draco constantly worked in his office, where he would spend most of the day, sending people to buy stuff for the upcoming child with their money. They saw each other every day at breakfast and every night at dinner.

Then they would spend time in the library, or walking around the garden. Or they went out to eat some times. It was really comfortable. The argument had not been mentioned again, for both sakes. 

Now, though, Ginny felt like hitting herself. She now caught herself sometimes looking longingly at Draco and sighing. Sometimes she would watch him sleep. Sometimes she would do a small gesture like push his hair out of his eyes and then smile when he did. She always had the urge to hold hands with him, and almost every time gave into it. 

And little by little, step-by-step, while time passed and the days seemed barely minutes; she fell in love with him.

She had done the one thing she had promised herself she would not do, and this bothered her. She felt like she had betrayed herself and it hurt slightly. But at the same time she felt like she was the luckiest person in the world.

With her newfound discovery, she now could permit herself to do all the things that confused her before. She could have that physical contact with him without her mind having to ask itself why the hell she longed to be with him. How she seemed to literally count the hours until dinner so she could see him, and how she arranged herself for said dinner; her mind wouldn't have to ask why to those actions anymore. 

Now came the hard part: telling him.

She had never asked him if what he had said that night was true: if he indeed loved her. As they never mentioned that night anymore, she hadn't seen it fit to do so. Besides, what would he think if she suddenly asked him that question? The only way she could find out was by telling him that she loved him. And that would be extremely hard, because she would have to swallow all her pride to do so. 

His attitude towards her hadn't changed one bit. He would still come up behind her and kiss her shoulder. Sometimes she would be reading and he would begin to fondle her stomach, placing his head on it in hopes to hear the noise from the life inside. They hadn't, however, had sex in possibly that one month that had passed. It was just that she was never in the mood for doing so. And the times he asked her, he did it as if he were trying to convince himself that he needed it, but she knew he didn't really and he just asked to see if she wanted.

They were more than happy now to just cuddle with each other for hours at a time. Almost every time when they were falling asleep was the time for snuggling, nuzzling and cuddling. 

Today was a rainy day, the sky was gray and it poured down a storm. Ginny liked this day very much. She felt little Ormand kick rather hard and she smiled down at her belly, patting it. She was sitting in the living room, on the window seat, looking out at the rain in silence. She had been pondering whether to tell Draco today or not.

Finally, after a few hours, she stood up very determined and walked the way to his office slowly. On the way, however, she put a hand against a wall, leaning on it and doubling up. It seemed little Ormand was more excited than usual; only now it hurt. He kicked twice again and she let out a short gasp of pain. "Oh, darling, stop it," she whispered. She exhaled as the movement stopped and started walking again. 

She stood in front of the door as if eyeing it curiously and then opened it. He had been writing on a piece of parchment and he immediately looked up at her as she walked in. He dropped his eagle-quill and tilted his head at her. "Do you need anything, love?" he asked gently and a slight smirk on his mouth.

She walked towards the desk and began to twiddle her fingers; oh great _now_ she had to get flustered. She cleared her throat and he waited for her to utter a word. She needed to tell him.

"I…"

She had to do it now, or else she would not do it.

"Um, I…"

Come on! She had to tell him now! It was easy, _I love you, Draco_, and that would be it. He wouldn't get angry… would he?

"I—I—I—I—" she paused for a minute and looked down at herself, feeling something rush between her legs. She looked up at him, panic all over her features, completely forgetting what she had come to say. "I'm in labor!"

**Author's Note:** Wee! Is that a cliffhanger? Is it? –grins and winks- Forgive me if it is. They're too addicting. I'm writing the 17th chapter as you read this, so I might have it up soon. Not today, but soon! Woo! ^_^ Yes, I'm happy. Please review! I like to read what you all say. I read every single review so they count. 

**Blue Rain**


	17. Of Childbirth And Surprises

**Author's Note**: I hope you guys like this chapter. It is a tad short, but this is my first time describing childbirth. And it is absolutely horrid. -_-; I still hope you like.

Chapter Seventeen

~Of childbirth and surprises~

"You're in _what_?" Draco asked, gaping at her still form. He jerked up from his chair and walked over to her, grabbing her shoulders slightly, "Isn't this supposed to last nine months? You've only seven! And… what _is that?" he asked looking down, contorting his face for there was a great puddle of water beneath her. She looked at him._

"My water broke… and I think I had a contraction earlier. I'm in labor." She shifted a bit, going slightly paler. She looked like she was frightened. Well, he would be too. After all, she had the prospect of something much resembling a turkey to come out of her… well, of her. 

"No, it has to be a mistake," he stated easily, almost relieved. "Perhaps it kicked too hard and it broke that water-thing."

Yes, that was it. It was simply too soon for the baby to come out. There was no room ready for it, and though there were quite a few things, not everything that was needed had been bought. He looked at her.

"Draco Malfoy, this baby is coming out and it's coming out now!" she said and gripped his arms momentarily, screwing her eyes shut and emitting a low '_oh!_' in surprise. She then loosened her grip and opened her eyes, he saw tears in them.

"Let's get you to a room," he said and picked her up, rather difficultly as she was letting herself fall limp.

***

Mediwitch Gillian had been called and she had appeared instantly. She had confirmed that Ginny was indeed in labor. "Oh don't worry," she had stated as she began to do numerous things to Ginny to get her ready, "It's quite normal for babies to be premature. They'll be slightly smaller than normal babies though, in most cases." 

The surroundings were transformed. What once was a luxurious guest room now looked more or less like a hospital room. There were some potions, ointments and numerous of other magical properties and instruments Draco dared not to go into description of.

Every thirty seconds or so, Ginny would screw her eyes shut again and begin to breathe agitatedly to then stop after a few seconds. She would open her eyes, tears visible but not cried and sweat shining on her forehead. Draco remained by her side, and her hand gripped his with little strength as of now. He saw as the Mediwitch now parted Ginny's legs, opening them as wide as she could muster. Draco tilted his head at this, but could not concentrate as Ginny begun to whimper again.

"Okay dear," said the Mediwitch to Ginny, "I will need you to start pushing already, alright? When I tell you, you push." She received a very vague nod from Ginny who was now catching her breath. "Right, now breathe deeply—yes; very well, like that—and now push,"

Ginny grunted and Draco saw her shut her eyes and begin to struggle. Every now and then, Gillian would say phrases as "Very good," or "That's it, one more." After every ten second push, Ginny would fall back onto the pillow exhaustedly and shake her head. Draco would caress her damp forehead and push her hair away from it.

Another push and Ginny seemed as if she would slip into unconsciousness, but she never did. Tears now fell freely, confusing themselves with the droplets of sweat that made their way down her face and neck.

Draco saw his wife's face contort with what seemed to be the worst suffering she'd even gone through. He wondered why such a thing could hurt her so much. Hadn't his mother said that it was the greatest thing that happened to a woman? That the joy of giving birth could not be compared to anything? He would like to know very much where the hell that so-called joy was. Unless she had meant that joy was screaming and writhing, but then that would make her sadistic.

Then again, what did he know?

His thoughts were interrupted by his hand becoming numb. He looked down at it and saw his already-pale fingers become even paler with how she held his hand; which was very tightly. Now where the hell had she gotten so much strength? She cried out loudly and fell against the pillow again. 

It had gone on now for six hours since she had said she was going to give birth and the baby still hadn't come out of her. It had been an intense hour of pushing and still not even a glimpse of hair. Mediwitch Gillian, however, seemed as though everything was as normal as ever.

"Isn't it supposed to be out by now?" said Draco desperately, not as much as for Ginny, though that was important, but because he felt he would lose a hand very soon. Ginny was panting in a momentary pause.

"Just a bit more," said the Mediwitch. Draco refrained from yelling at her that she had been saying that for the last half hour already. Gillian propped Ginny's leg up so her feet rested on the Mediwitch's shoulders. "Okay, Mrs. Malfoy, we're coming to an end, you're doing great," she flashed a smile which Ginny did not see as her eyes were closed and which Draco returned as a glare. "Now I will need you to push harder and longer, on my count," Ginny propped herself up on her elbows, preparing herself again. "_Now_!" said the Mediwitch and Ginny began to push as if her life depended on it.

And in some ironic way; it did.

"GET—THIS—THING—OUT—OF—ME!" cried Ginny clutching at the sheets now and Draco was slightly thankful she had let go of his hand. He saw her and heard her grunt loudly. He couldn't help but feel guilty that he had done this to her. After all, he had indeed.

"There's the head!" said Gillian excitedly and Draco was snapped out of his reverie, jumping slightly startled at the sudden excitement. He looked at Ginny, who seemed to not have computed the words really. "Come on, Mrs. Malfoy; keep going, it'll be out," she looked intently between Ginny's legs. "Come on, Mister Malfoy, you should see."

Draco eyed Ginny, which was now in half-scream, half-sob as she pushed with all her might, and then to Gillian, who beckoned Draco to go and have a look. He walked over to the latter and glimpsed quickly between Ginny's legs to see scarce strands of damp hair—though he couldn't make out the color as of yet as he looked too quickly to tell—on a round head that prodded out.

"_Uuughh_!" said Ginny—or at least that was what it sounded like—and Draco resumed his position beside her. It happened quickly, one minute all he heard was Ginny's screams and the next he heard faint crying, which became louder and louder until he saw Gillian pull out a wrinkled little thing out of Ginny; that wrinkled little thing was screaming and crying and completely covered in blood and other things, with the umbilical cord attached. It was, most likely, the most repulsive thing he had seen, ever.

At that moment, Ginny fell back, sobbing slightly and sweating uncontrollably. Draco kissed her forehead lovingly and caressed her. "You did it, love," he whispered to her, drying her face with his hands and leaned to give her a kiss on the mouth. She gave another sob as she cupped her hand on the back of his neck. 

He pulled back slightly to watch her; her dark eyes were glinting and a faint smile was upon her lips. "I love you," she whispered in a barely audible voice; she seemed to have lost her voice with all the grunting, groaning, screaming and such. Draco let himself smile at her before giving her another quick kiss.

"I love you too," he said to her and she nodded, then he pulled away completely to watch the Mediwitch washing the baby with her eyes closed and humming. She then cut of the umbilical cord and raised the baby in her hands. She grinned.

"Here it is," said Gillian with a broad smile and then wrapped the baby in a sheet. "Oh, I almost forgot!" She opened the sheet to look at the baby, she then frowned slightly and curiously, she looked up at the two of them. "What do you know…" she said trailing off slightly and blinking. "You have a beautiful, healthy… _girl_."

****

**Author's Note**: Yay! Just to say, that I was thinking of making it a girl ever since I started the story. I was amazed at how many people wanted it to be a girl though. So… I got my wish and you got yours! ^_^ was it any good? Did it completely suck? Rate it: A, B, C, D, or F. Don't rate it by the length though, because I have like a C on that, I know. –giggles- Review, please! You'll get a… hug! –hugs- Ooh, and I do recommend you to visit my online journal (link can be found on the A/N of the 15th chapter. I say when I update and my ideas for other stories. And you can comment and give ideas. 

Review!

**Blue**


	18. Krystal Elizabeth MalfoyWeasley

**Author's Note**: SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRY!!! I am so sorry you guys! I had schoolwork and then during these holidays I had writer's block and nothing would come out. I think I wrote myself into a corner. But it's off now and I wrote this today, so it's hot off the press and I wanted to post it as soon as possible before I lose readers. I'm so sorry, forgive me. I know it's not legal to do this to you. So sorry for the cliffie and all. I think you guys might enjoy this chapter. Please, don't kill me. O_O On with it now, so you guys don't kill me anymore.

*This is the Edited Version!* Oh my God… I noticed the errors after I went to sleep last night. I was just like pondering and it hit me! Okay, the reason for the whole ten and 24 year old thing is that when I originally wrote the chapter, Krystal was only 5 years old, which would account for Draco being 24. Afterwards I decided to change the age for obvious reasons and I completely forgot to change Draco's age. So I'm sorry for the confusion and stuff. It is now changed though!

Chapter Eighteen

~Krystal Elizabeth Malfoy-Weasley~

"A… girl?" said Ginny, snapping her head to look at the Mediwitch oddly. Draco had nearly the same reaction as her, he opened his mouth several times but no sound came out so he closed it again. Gillian smiled broadly and handed the small bundle to Ginny, who took it with trembling hands and curled it in her arms.

She was extremely beautiful, with scarce, flaming red hair upon her rather large head of a baby. The color of her eyes could not be yet told, though they had a translucent characteristic to them that Ginny was sure she recognized. 

The baby was barely heavy, being so delicate and fragile, Ginny was almost afraid of holding it, as she thought she might break it if she held it too tightly. Draco's head prodded above her shoulder, possibly to confirm if it really was a girl. 

You couldn't tell if it was by simply looking at the face. Slowly, Ginny unraveled the sheets from the small body and looked upon her baby. It indeed was a girl, there was no mistaking that. 

The pain she had felt when giving birth could not even compare to the emotion that now crowded her from the inside at seeing her daughter right there, in front of her. The outcome of a forced marriage, of an undiscovered love… how could it be possible that it was so beautiful? How could she love her so much when she had just met her?

Ginny caressed her face and her head tenderly, the way only a mother could and then she kissed her baby's forehead very gently. She heard Mediwitch Gillian's voice faintly. "What are you going to call her?"

Draco hesitated; they had not thought a name for a girl, thinking it was a boy. He was about to voice his thoughts, but then Ginny's voice interrupted him. "Krystal Elizabeth Malfoy," she spoke delicately, gazing at the small girl's twinkling eyes. Draco raised an eyebrow at Ginny, but she was much more interested in her baby, than on his expressions and reactions at the moment. 

* * *

Draco was now sitting outside on the ground, pondering about a lot of things. First of all, why it had been a girl? He was supposed to have been charmed to only have boys. And when he had asked his father about this on an owl after Ginny had had the baby, his father had been just as skeptical as he, claiming they had done the spell on him and disappointed that it had been a girl.

The first though that came to mind, of course, was that of her cheating on him. But he discarded that thought as soon as he saw the resemblance of Krystal and him and as soon as he did, without Ginny's knowledge, the spell to know if it was his or not. Now, he should not be bothering or troubling himself thinking about that, but he was. 

It wasn't that he was mad that it had been a girl, but he was confused, you could say troubled. 

He sighed, his gaze getting lost at the nature around him. He was still for a long time, as well as silent. He lost track of time and did not know how long it was before he felt Ginny sit beside him and remain quiet. He could hear her soft breathing and another's, pretty sure… the baby's. He turned to look at her and gave her a weak smile; she smiled back at him, holding small Krystal in her arms. It had been three months already.

"Draco, just hold her," said Ginny, frowning now. "Please? You haven't held her even once in three months." She looked at him and pointed with her head down at their baby. Draco gingerly looked down at his daughter's face; she was sleeping soundlessly.

"It was supposed to be a boy," he said slightly grudgingly, Ginny frowned even more deeply and stood up. He eyed her for a moment, she was holding Krystal out to him, and he shook his head. "I'm not going to hold her, Virginia," he said shortly. Ginny gave a big sigh, probably attempting to calm herself. She turned on her heels and stalked off, rocking the baby in her arms.

Night fell and Draco was undressing in the bathroom, getting into his pajamas to sleep already. He exited the bathroom and found the bed empty and their baby sleeping on her cradle beside Ginny's side of the bed. He walked over to the cradle and looked down onto the peaceful baby's face.

He basically glared down at it, rather. He turned away, but the girl cooed, he turned once more to watch her and saw that she was still sleeping, she probably must have cooed in her dream. Did babies have dreams? He figured they must have, though probably they didn't make any sense. Draco perched his arms, folding them on the rim of the cradle and looking down at Krystal. Her hair had grown slightly and her eyes had become silver, like his, though now they were closed.

He reached out a hand to caress her small face, tenderly and the small baby seemed to cling to his hand slightly, he couldn't help but smile. He sighed meaningfully. "You're my daughter," he said softly, though there was no one else there. "And I do love you. Just as I love your mother," He slowly picked her up and kissed her forehead tenderly and then held her to him.

Ginny watched from the doorframe, her eyes filling with tears. At last he admitted it. She walked over to him and embraced his waist from behind, then made her way around, still embracing him, until she was at his side. "Just as I love you," she said, cupping the back of his head and giving him a brief kiss to then kiss her daughter's cheek.

* * *

It was a breezy summer day, and a small boy of about eleven years of age sat on some stone steps which led to a bigger house. And summer was drawing to a close. The boy had piercing green eyes and a mane of brown, messy hair. He was sitting shyly on those steps, overlooking a girl, about his same age, with bright, flaming red hair that reached her shoulders and gray eyes streaked with bright blue. 

She gave out some sense of importance and superiority in the way which she held herself, apparently so confident and unbothered by the breeze that now ruffled her hair. She was standing on the same steps on which he was sitting, though completely at the other corner, her hand upon the railing and looking out onto the distance, as if expecting something, or someone. It was the latter, as he came to find out when she ran towards a figure of an unmistakably powerful man, both in built and in arrogance.

The girl flung her arms around the man's neck; he had half kneeled on the ground to welcome her with open arms. "Grandfather Lucius!" cried the girl, overcome with joy as her grandfather stroked her hair.

"Krystal," he drawled out, kissing her forehead quite tenderly. "How have you been behaving?" Krystal smiled with glee and untangled herself from him.

"I've been good, you can ask mummy and father!" she said over-excitedly, then she seemed to think better of it and stood straight, her hands holding each other as she looked up innocently at her grandfather's face. He smirked down at her, opened his mouth to speak, but then looked at the boy sitting on the stone steps and tilted his head, his lip curling up in almost a snarl. "And who is _this_?" he asked smoothly, as if not minding showing his disdain.

"Oh," said Krystal, overlooking the boy with superiority and sneering at him much like her father did. Her resemblance was uncanny. "Potter," Lucius jumped slightly at the name and glared at the boy. "Michael William Potter," she said with venom. "He's Uncle Harry and Auntie Hermione's son. He's my age." She stuck her nose up in the air, as if the mere thought of sharing attention with another person was preposterous.

"Uncle and Auntie?" said Lucius, his voice dripping with venom as he shuddered; he muttered something under his breath that Krystal did not quite catch. Just then Draco, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione came out onto the threshold and each pair of parents walked towards their respective children. Lucius nodded at them all, snarling a tad at Hermione and Harry for obvious reasons, and then he forced on a smile for Ginny. 

"Virginia," he said taking her offered hand and kissing it, she nodded with a small smile which did not reach her eyes and snaked an arm around her daughter's shoulder. Ginny had changed quite drastically; she was much respected in an otherwise ignorant society of the 'high class' of the Wizarding World. She held herself with quite an arrogant air, though those that knew her knew that she was not like she looked like at all. She was still a warm-hearted person, with quite a character, much like her mother, but very, very nice.

"What brings you around, Lucius?" she asked calmly and he, who was looking at his cane, raised his eyebrows at her, and then he looked at Draco, who had an arm around his wife's waist. Lucius looked from one to the other with a sigh of disdain, shook his head and then cleared his throat.

"I was merely passing through the neighborhood and I thought I would drop in and see my precious granddaughter and bring her a gift." Lucius pulled a box from within his robes and handed it to the small girl, who opened it eagerly to find a necklace.

The necklace had a long silver chain which bore a pendant with an embedded crest and labored edges and had several sapphires encrusted. She squealed at such a piece of jewelry and Lucius smirked at her. "It was your grandmother's, she wants you to have it, precious." Krystal nodded and let Lucius put it on her.

"Say 'thank you', darling," said Ginny to Krystal gently and the small girl kissed her grandfather on the cheek and hugged him, muttering in his ear. Lucius nodded at them all.

"I must take my leave—"

"Oh, Lucius, I'm sure you've met our friends, Harry and Hermione Potter, along with their son, Michael?" asked Ginny sweetly, or feigned so. She grinned at him and Lucius shot a dark look at her, but then forced yet another grimace.

"Potters," he said shortly, before dissaparating off the Malfoy grounds. Ginny heaved a sigh and shook her head, looking at Draco meaningfully.

"What?" said Draco boringly, "He never liked Potter and you know he always loathed mudbl—_muggleborns_," he corrected himself as Ginny shot him a dark look at pointed with her head at their daughter. Ginny crossed her arms. "My apologies, _Hermione," said Draco through gritted teeth, as if the mention of Hermione's name damaged his composure._

He hadn't changed much; he was still the same towards his beliefs, though Ginny often pestered him about them. But, no one is perfect.

"Mummy, mummy!" said Krystal, tugging on her mother's robes, Ginny looked down at her with a smile. The little girl pointed at the garden in the distance. "Can I go play?"

"Sure," said Ginny and smiled more broadly, Krystal meant to leave but her father stopped her. 

"Be polite, darling," he said and stroked her hair slightly. "Take Michael with you, or at least ask him." Krystal's face fell considerably.

"Do I have to?" she asked crossing her arms and furrowing her brow meaningfully. Draco shot her a look and she concurred. "Oh fine, but if he even _touches_ me, he's done for," she turned towards Michael. "Hurry up, then!" she commanded and began to walk away, huffing indignantly and Michael after her, rather grudgingly as well as his parents had positively commanded him to go with Krystal.

"She's your daughter alright, Malfoy," said Harry, looking at Krystal's expressions and way of walking thoughtfully as Ginny and Hermione went inside the Manor to talk or to do some girl stuff they knew nothing about.

"Oh hush, Potter," said Draco, seething, "I only have to like you when my wife is here." Both men glared at each other, the ever present cloud of their childhood rivalry above them. Then… they both broke into a grin and shook their heads. "Come on, Potter, let's have a drink."

"We'll never get that enemy spark going on again, will we?" asked Harry as he walked beside Draco towards the manor. Draco shook his head. "I thought so. Blame it on Ginny and Hermione"

"Pity," said Draco, shaking his head. "I had so much fun torturing you. The thrill is gone." He then smirked that trademark smirk of his; the one that still made all the girls melt at his sight. After all, he was only thirty years old. "I still have Weasley, that's a plus. I always look forward to our little rows."

* * *

"Hurry up, Potter, I don't have all my time for the likes of you." Krystal was walking back towards the manor, it was already sunset and she knew she should be in before dark, when all the alarms and wards around her house triggered.

She could not believe her father had made her play with that Michael Potter, the goody-goody child of her aunt and uncle. Now, it wouldn't bother her if he didn't require so much attention. Just because he was the child of the famous Harry Potter did not mean he had to steal her thunder. Harry Potter, the famous wizard who'd destroyed some old dark lord twice or something, Krystal remembered in her young mind of a ten-year-old. Her mother had told her all about it.

When Krystal was born, she made headlines of every newspaper and magazine in the Wizarding World, hey; she was famous by the mere fact of her father's name and such. But so was Michael. The thing was that Michael had been born exactly two hours before her and hence, whilst she made the headlines, so did he; only he'd make them first.

She was pampered and spoiled to no end, but was also taught hard work by her mother's side of the family, and she loved all of her cousins and aunts and uncles and both her Grandmothers as well as both her Grandfathers; though she could see they despised each other. She had inherited her father's cool and distant way of being, looking down upon others instead of looking at them as if she were at the same level. But she also had to learn to be nice and warm and friendly, like her mother.

Sometimes, the two personalities combined clashed and it was too much for the poor little girl.

But she enjoyed growing up at her manor, showered with gifts and pampering, with love from both of her parents. She was taught the utmost manners and had already her broomstick. She had inherited her father's abilities to play Quidditch, as well as her mother's. Though she preferred being a Keeper, instead of either Chaser or Seeker. 

Both children reached the stone steps which led to the house, Michael, despise his sulking, got there first and opened the door to enter, but let Krystal pass first because it seemed like the nice thing to do. However, she stalked past him without a look back and kept on walking long after he'd closed the door and was on her heels with the fear of getting lost inside the manor. 

They reached a landing which was well-lit with torches and candles; a tapestry of some kind of landscape hung on one of the walls. The fire on the torches crackled slowly and the flames played with Krystal's ginger hair. She looked around, perhaps looking for some kind of ghost or house-elf and then opened the tapestry to reveal a wall. Michael cleared his throat behind her. 

"Shh," she said, feeling around the wall, not looking back at Michael. "It's a passageway; it'll get us faster to the meeting room." She finally found what she was looking for, muttered a few words and disappeared beneath the tapestry. He did not make an attempt to move, but her hand shot out from behind the tapestry and grabbed his wrist, forcing him inside. 

"Not even the ghosts know about this," she said coolly and released him while she grabbed one torch from the wall and began to walk. "Father doesn't know I know it, so stick close if you don't want to get lost, it's quite easy, even for _you_." They remained silent for the next five minutes it took them to go pass that narrow corridor, lit and guided only by the light from the torch, which was decreasing every second.

By the time they'd reached the end, the fire had completely gone out and Krystal had placed the unlit torch on another holder in the wall, while she opened before her and both got out. He could watch her properly now and saw her red hair covered with a small amount of dust. She, however, was already busy with getting it out. When her hair was dust-free, she kept walking and knocked on a wooden door that was very close to where they had just come out. 

They waited for a reply until "Come in," was heard faintly from the inside in which he recognized as his aunt Ginny's voice. Krystal opened the door and made her way inside, Michael hesitated, and then followed suit. Their parents were sitting by the fire in the circular room. His mother was leaning back to his father's chest as he held her by the waist. On the other side, a perfect mirrored image of his parents were his Aunt Ginny and Uncle Draco, in the exact same position, they all welcomed their respective child; Krystal coming to rest on her mother's lap and Michael coming to his father's side, still standing up. The other three begun talking amongst themselves.

"Were you a good boy, Michael?" asked his mother, cupping his face lovingly and smiling at him. He gave her a half smile.

"Yes, mum," he replied almost forcefully. Krystal was too mean to him and too distant for his appreciation. He didn't like it that they were to be considered cousins, though they had not any link by blood. He had been forced to call Krystal's parents Aunt and Uncle, just as he was sure she was forced to do the same to his parents.

* * *

They said goodbye to the Potters as they dissaparated from the Manor's Grounds and then they went inside. Krystal stood expectantly before her parents. "Go to sleep now, darling," said Ginny, kneeling towards her. "Tomorrow we're going to take you to Diagon Alley so you can get your things for school. Go on."

"Can father lead me up, mum? Instead of you?" she asked with the innocence she still possessed. Draco smiled down at her and picked her up. She giggled slightly, giving a small squeal.

"Off we go then, I'll see you upstairs, love," he added to Ginny, who nodded and watched her husband and her daughter disappear up the stairs contentedly.

**Author's Note**: No, it's not the end. But at least it isn't a cliffhanger like last time. Again, so sorry… Please forgive me, please, please, please. I'm begging here, people! It's a five page chapter, I tried to make it long so you guys won't kill me too much!

Preview for the next chapter:

-Krystal is going to Hogwarts people! Yes, I'm skipping the Diagon Alley shopping part. It's boring, I'm sure you don't want to read that.

-Oh! D/G moments, we all like those! You'll see. ^_~ Oh… and a small hint, it won't be too fluffy. Hey... this is R after all. Those of you who like the R-ness of things will enjoy. I guarantee.

I skipped 11 years because I have something in mind. What do you say to the words "flashbacks"? It will make the story longer for those of you who want it longer. And no, it will not be fluffy from now on. D/G is just not fluffy at all. The next chapter will not be too fluffy I promise. Because while I do enjoy fluff, sometimes I get sick of it. You'll have to wait and see. Do be kind and leave a review.

**-Blue Rain**


	19. Recap

**Author's Note**: I ask for forgiveness! I was going through a bad case of writer's block, so this chapter might suck. I am warning you. Sorry for the long wait. HTML format is not uploading too well into ff.net, anyone else have that problem? I get the document with all these weird meta tags and all of that. Quite scary and frustrating. So, I have to load it up as a .txt file. Truly frustrating.  
  
_With the taste of your lips  
I'm on a ride  
You're toxic I'm slipping under  
With the taste of the poison paradise  
I'm addicted to you  
Don't you know that you're toxic?_ –Toxic Britney Spears (yeah, sue me. )

Chapter Nineteen  
Recap

Out of thin air two figures appeared inside the living room of the manor; one taller, one shorter, one with long hair, one with short, one a male, one a female. Anyone who laid their eyes upon this particular couple would probably think that they looked like they were meant for each other. Or perhaps, they would wonder how in the hell did they ever decide to pursue their paths together instead of separate. It was indeed, that this couple that now stood, brushing off the dust from their odd-looking clothing, looked as though they were thrust out from a story. One was warm, one was cold; one a redhead, the other a blond.  
  
Anyone who knew these two people would see this scene as the most improbable thing that could happen between them. It was kind of an atrocity, given that the two families—their offspring included—loathed each other. But now everything was different. Perhaps it was the way in which they stood; as simply elegant as they begun to walk out of the room, or perhaps it was the way in which his hand rested casually on the small of her back. Either way, eleven years earlier, this would have seemed impossible. But now it wasn't.  
  
Their footsteps echoed on the bare stone walls as they walked in step up towards who knows where. Finally, they reached a door with oak linings and he allowed her to enter first. A smile drew upon her face after she entered and she turned round to look at him. "Finally," she said in a relieved voice. "After eleven years, we're alone once more." She grinned and walked over to the bed, tired to no end, and plopped down on it on her back with a contented sigh.  
  
He walked over to the bed and lied down next to her. "Indeed, indeed, Virginia," he spoke softly craning his neck to look at her with a slight smirk. "Whatever shall we do about it?" An almost identical smirk drew upon her face at this.  
  
"Whatever do you mean, Draco?" she said looking at him as well, her red hair was sprawled on the pillow beneath her head. He propped up on his elbows, looking at her still. She nodded in understanding and shook her head slightly. "I'm too tired for that, though." She shrugged, closing her eyes slightly.  
  
Ginny was not really in the mood for what he wanted to do; she was simply enjoying lying there in silence. She was perfectly happy with just the silent complicity they seemed to share nowadays. And she was extraordinarily fine with the peace of mind she had at the moment. That is, until she felt his lips on her arm. Opening one eye to peek at him, she saw as he kissed his way up her arm to her shoulder.  
  
Stirring somewhat, she closed her eye again, hiding the smile that dared to form on her lips. Soon, he had kissed his way to the other shoulder, down that arm and up again until he began to kiss up her neck, while undoing the buttons to her clothing with extreme slowness. In an attempt to keep her reactions to a minimum, she took a deep breath, but he perhaps saw this as an invitation and kissed her lips briefly, barely brushing his against hers.  
  
Raising her head from the pillow to kiss him better, Ginny found that he pulled back so she couldn't reach him. When her top was off, she felt him straddle her and his hands came to close at her wrists, holding them to each side of her head. She opened her eyes and looked to each of her now captured hands, then at him with a look of confusion dwelling in her gaze. "What—" she began, but he rocked a little and she gasped softly at the sensation.  
  
Her dark eyes raised up his chest until she looked into his eyes, which were darkened and swam in haziness. He simply stared down at her, rocking from time to time in a clear attempt of teasing her. He was doing such a good job at it too. Her adrenaline was soon pumping through her veins and she found herself arching slightly up against him. With a smirk, he licked his lips, moving a bit sharper.  
  
"Mm, Draco…" she breathed out as a shiver ran through her. He was too good at this.  
  
"I thought you said you were not in the mood?" he asked slyly, letting his hands slide from her wrists until they came to rest at her bare stomach, drawing little circles with his fingers.   
  
"Forget what I said," she said, attempting to arch up to him, but he didn't let her. "Please, Draco," she mumbled gaining another smirk from him. He leaned down, placing each of his arms beside her head, his lips barely brushing against hers.  
  
"Please what?" he hissed, carefully letting his tongue lick against her lips very, very briefly. She raised her head and this time could manage to full out kiss him. She did not bother to deepen the kiss, as it started out as so anyway. One of her hands was clutching at the neck of his shirt, to keep him from pulling away, and the other was wound around the back of his neck, for more security.   
  
Their lips became fiercer, as their tongues battled it out inside their mouths, wildly caressing one another. In a moment, she rolled them over until she was on top of him. She felt him smile against her lips as she proceeded to undo his shirt. She caressed the material off his arms and ran her hands on his naked chest, licking her lips as she now took the opportunity to rock teasingly.   
  
The smirk on his mouth never left as he placed his hands on her hips, making her stop. "Dear, dear," he drawled out with the characteristic of the voice he had used so much in his school years, "You don't want to be doing that."  
  
"And why not?" she asked, looking down at him as her hands now rested upon his bare chest, flat against the translucent skin and contrasting greatly with his pale tone.  
  
"Because you would end things too soon for me," he replied, winking up at her.  
  
"But I'm not trying to please you," she said with such charisma, such childlike innocence that made him look at her quizzically before she continued those words, "I'm trying to please myself."  
  
His smirk widened, his hands left her hips and his eyebrows rose with suggestiveness. "Please away, love." A mirrored smirk drew upon her darkened lips. She kissed his neck with delicacy and slowness. It almost ached that she was going so slow. But she kept kissing his neck sensually, her tongue darting out at some spots as she felt his breathing become less steady. She bit down, hard, on his shoulder and heard him emit a low groan.  
  
The delicious sound vibrated and she smirked against his flesh, thoroughly enjoying what she was doing to her husband. She kissed that same spot tenderly and then felt him as he straightened up and managed—somehow—to sit on the bed. She was still straddling him, but her head was higher than his, and when she attempted to kiss him, he took one of her breasts into his mouth, while kneading the other with his hand and fingers.  
  
A small writhe escaped her and he rolled his tongue around her already hardened bud, biting down on it rather recklessly. She drowned a moan and arched herself towards him, her hands coming to grip at his shoulders as he continued his ministrations. She felt as her breath became even more fast than it already was and how small trickles of sweat became even more evident in her forehead. She threw her head back as he bit her again and gasped breathlessly, gripping his shoulders more tightly.  
  
He carefully moved his mouth, kissing his way to her other mound, while holding the already sensitive one with his other hand and then proceeded to treat it as equally as he had done the first one. His free hand wondered down her torso, to her belly-button, where he swirled his finger around and in it, causing her to laugh breathlessly.   
  
The hand kept caressing down her outer thigh and then he snuck it in, under her skirt until he touched her warm spot. She gasped out audibly and opened her eyes. She felt his hardness pressing slightly against her thigh and this furthered more her reaction to him, making her, in layman's terms, wet. Deciding already that the ache was far too much for her, she, using her advantaged grip on his shoulders, pushed him back against the bed again, forcing him to lie down. Her mouth searched hungrily for his and found it, beginning to kiss with a bruising manner. But their mouths could not really kiss each other as they should. She undid his pants and pulled them down with his underwear. She had long since wanted to be sexy; she thought that they were both already turned on enough. He did the same to her skirt.  
  
The blinding ache for him was becoming steadily unbearable and she did the only thing she could do and sat on top of him, taking him in fully and staying quite still, as if she were adjusting to him inside of her. She moaned out in pleasure and he equaled her reaction, biting on her lip and tugging on it. She took a sharp intake of breath as he started moving slightly and the new sensation almost drove her over the edge, but it didn't.  
  
They began to move, she on top of him, with slow painfulness. She was being too slow, and he knew she wanted to tease him while enjoying it fully herself. But he needed to enjoy it too, though he was. But, he grabbed her hips and pressed her down against him, making her groan slightly. He then began to guide her, making her go faster and faster until they both couldn't think anymore. The adrenaline was pumping, the sweat was pouring, and the thoughts were not even thoughts anymore. The breaths came out ragged as they gave themselves completely to the moment.  
  
And then the moment came and went just as quickly. She fell limply on him, panting quickly. He removed her and she made a small sound of disapproval. He gathered her in his arms, nuzzling into her neck as they felt their breaths begin to become steady again, along with their heartbeats.  
  
"I love you," she said sleepily and raggedly, snuggling into him. He kissed her shoulder slightly, making her squeeze him tighter. He smiled.  
  
"I know."  
  
The melody flowed around the music room as she played the piano and she began to get homesick already. Krystal remembered very well how her mother used to play the piano and she insisted on learning so her mother had shown her. She knew very well that her mother and her father had not had the best of marriages at the beginning, as she had overheard them one night they were talking about it when they thought she was asleep.  
  
It made her think, in her small 11-year-old mind, while she should still be fantasizing about magical creatures coming and becoming her friends, what was love. It was a wonder she had ever had present; she knew her parents loved her dearly, and they seemed to love themselves, but she was still pretty naïve and did not understand anything about forced marriages or anything of the sort. She thought maybe she would be forced to marry too.  
  
Oh Merlin! What if it was to that horrid "cousin" of hers, Potter?! She didn't even wan to think about it! Such a classless boy! Egh! She stood up from the piano and decided to go to her room already. Once there, her thoughts began consuming her again. The idea of having to marry someone as common as that began to scare her. Let's face it, children think too much at that age, really. It's actually quite amusing how they take everything out of proportion.  
  
She was writing now to her parents to inform how things had gone out in her first day of school and she chose to let those thoughts aside and concentrate on the quill scratching along the parchment.   
  
"Oh look, darling, it's Krystal's owl!" said an excited Ginny to her husband as the white owl swooped down on the living room couch and pulled out his leg so Ginny could take the parchment and opened it, beginning to read out loud so that Draco could hear her. " _'Dear mum and dad,  
  
" 'Everything has been going great over here. I was sorted into the blue house, Ravenclaw and met some quite friendly people, if you can call them that, here. But… Potter got into Slytherin. I wonder what Aunt Hermione and Uncle Harry think about that. I never thought he had it in him. I wish I had gotten into Slytherin, or maybe even Gryffindor, but oh well. Oh yeah, you know Alexandra? Uncle Fred's daughter? I saw her! She's in third year and she's a Gryffindor. Nice, huh? Oh anyway, I was playing the piano and I remembered you and dad. I haven't met the professors yet, but I hope I will soon! I can't wait to start classes. Well, I'm off to sleep.  
  
" 'I love you both, mum and dad, take care and send oodles of love to Drakie the dragon! Krystal Elizabeth Malfoy-Weasley.'_ Oh! That's grand, she got into Ravenclaw!" Ginny exclaimed, clutching the letter to her chest. She missed her daughter dearly already.  
  
"Are you sure Potter and Granger did not exchange our children?" Draco asked teasingly, but Ginny looked at him rather sternly. "I was only kidding, love. We should write back to our precious daughter," he continued, smiling slightly. "And send her cakes and candy so she can brag to her little friends."  
  
"Spoiling her now, are we?" said Ginny testily, a smile tugging at her lips.  
  
"Yes. Very much so. She needs to keep the Malfoy tradition. Until we get a boy, that is." He smirked at her and she shook her head, rolling her eyes slightly.  
  
"You're impossible."  
  
"That I am." He stepped closer to her and kissed her briefly. "Perhaps you ought to change that," he said against her lips.  
  
"Oh should I?" she asked, kissing him.  
  
"Mm-hmm," he said into her mouth, feeling as she let go of the letter and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She smiled at him before pulling him down on top of her.

**Author's Note**: Alright. Only one more chapter and it is over. Liked it? Hated it? Tell me so in a review! ; The next chapter should be up within a week.   
  
Blue


	20. Interlude: Looking Back

**Author's Note**: Alright, guys, the twentieth chapter, give it up for me! I would like to thank all the reviewers, you guys have really outdone yourself! Over 400 reviews! I feel so special! On with the chapter!

_Here in the night, __I see the sun __Here in the dark, our two hearts are one I__ts out of our hands, we can't stop what we have begun __And love just took me by surprise, looking through your eyes __I see a night I wish could last forever __I see a world we're meant to see together __And it is so much more than I remember __More than I remember M__ore than I have known_- Looking Through Your Eyes The Corrs

Chapter Twenty

Interlude: Looking Back

When Ginny reflected over the two weddings; hers and Draco's versus Harry and Hermione's she could come up with quite a load of differences that made her rather jealous of the way Harry and Hermione had vowed their love. Because, as few knew, the arranged marriage between her and Draco was celebrated with a lot of happiness and glory… superficially speaking. But if they looked deeper, they could observe that love had not been there at all during the celebration.

She remembered Harry and Hermione's wedding and got out a photo album to see the pictures of said event. The way Harry looked at his soon-to-be bride walk down the aisle with her father in arm had made Ginny's stomach pang rather sadly, comparing that way to the way of indifference Draco had looked at her in the same sentimental situation. Or maybe, the baby had just kicked and the pang she had felt in her stomach was Orma—Krystal, rather—kicking to let her mother know she was there. But she doubted that. She didn't think she was that far in the pregnancy for then.

That wedding had been very simple, not even as big as hers had been, but she still thought that it was so much far better than hers had been. Especially because she had seen her wedding as the beginning to a Calvary that she could not end any time soon. Though now that she was that far into her marriage she discovered she would not want it to end. However, the Potter-Granger wedding had been the upturn of the Wizarding World, after all, their hero was entering into married life. The hero that, given his way, would have changed his name and become a hermit along with his wife in plans to escape the publicity he was always destined to.

Funny thing, while Harry escaped publicity, her husband, Draco, sought it. Publicity they had, they did not lack it at all because Draco and his father had made sure of that, but Ginny never felt it as suffocating as Harry said it was. But, given that Harry had entered publicity ever since he was 11–years-old, that had perhaps given him a lasting impression regarding publicity and privacy.

Hermione had dressed in a long, lilac, bell-shaped, embroidered dress that fell freely from her hips, quite adjusted on top, accenting her figure and strapless, showing off tanned shoulders. Her curly hair was on a bun and a twist, with stray chocolate curls falling down atop her shoulders. Her veil was pulled over her face, concealing her glossed lips and her blushed cheeks. She looked magical, truly. And Harry's emerald gaze literally glinted as he laid eyes on his bride.

The ceremony had been very sentimental, causing almost everyone there to shed tears when they both said their vows, made by each other and written and recited from memory. They sealed it with a long, heartfelt kiss and then practically ran out the aisle towards the reception, which was being held in Hogsmeade Gardens, a local park of Hogsmeade that gladly and generously was donated for The-Boy-Who-Lived's wedding.

Ginny passed the page in the photo album to see Harry and Hermione holding a beautiful baby boy and she remembered the birth of Michael William Potter. Ginny had been quite stranged as to why they had not named the boy James, but Harry had told her that they were saving that name for their second child, because Hermione had wanted to name her first after her grandfather and Harry had said that Hermione had been "extremely convincing". Ginny did not need to know what his definition of that was.

Three days ago, Ginny had found out though that Hermione was pregnant again and had been for two months. But she saw no belly whatsoever, giving her to believe that Hermione was one of those girls that didn't show a belly until they were quite advanced in their pregnancy. This gave her a tiny, measly suspicion at how soon Hermione had had her and Harry's first child after their marriage. But she had known that already.

Michael and Krystal, Ginny saw, had never gotten along as well as their parents would have liked them to. But she didn't blame them, after all, they were both purebloods, but came from two different backgrounds. She was sure that Hermione had shown her child all the values taught to her, and she wouldn't have had any problem with Harry teaching anything like that because the child would promise to be very well-taught because of her mother's intelligence and her father's powerfulness regarding magic. That child would be a brain. It did surprise her, however, that Michael had fallen into Slytherin, out of the four houses, but she wouldn't even think about that too much. There would be a reason and the Sorting Hat was never wrong.

Anyway, Krystal was in Ravenclaw and that did not surprise her too much, but she figured she would be in Slytherin, given her attitude or in Gryffindor because of herself, the mother. But all in all, she had been quite happy. As for the girl's attitude, she couldn't so much about that because she had tried to teach her morals and values, but Draco had spoilt her to no end and she supposed she should have been ready for that. Though, Ginny tried to maintain a borderline in between getting her too spoiled or too down-to-earth.

She did not have a perfect life, she knew that. She did not begin with a perfect life, even. She was dragged into a marriage cradled with hate and repulsion for each other and she had felt like her life would end at that moment. But it didn't, and now she had a beautiful daughter to prove it.

And that in itself was the greatest thing that had happened to her.

From the moment she had been told she was pregnant, up until now, her life had been filled with joy, though with its ups and downs. Filled with happiness, but tears were spilled nonetheless.

It was anything but perfect.

But she didn't complain about it. Every day was a new day filled with new expectations and new challenges, just waiting to be experienced.

Everything was different since it started eleven years ago. Things were now extraordinarily altered from how they were at first. The relationship between her and Draco had grandly evolved, making her a great respected woman in society, plus having the love and the attention of Draco Malfoy, envied by most women in her age-frame, and some which were younger, or even older.

She would not have been surprised if her husband cheated of her, because of the situation when they first married, hell, she even thought of cheating on him herself, but she never did, or never thought about it long enough. Partly, because she was not really in the mood for scandal. And she knew that he would never forgive her, regardless of how much he did it himself.

But he never did.

She thought she would have to bear with that. But she didn't, because he never cheated on her, never even replaced her with any one of his secretaries or bimbos.

That she knew of, anyway.

Raising Krystal had not been an easy thing. She was a tough girl to raise. She got along greatly with the Weasleys—all of them, mind you—but she did not share that sentiment with the Potters. Sure, she liked Harry and Hermione, but she could not absolutely stand Michael. At all. But she should have seen it coming; both children were raised differently. Krystal had been raised to be the center of attention, and Michael had been raised to let others take the spotlight, while fighting for it himself.

The two personalities were bound to crash sooner or later. And they did. When they were six year olds and they could talk freely for the first time.

_Krystal had gone up to Michael, happy to see her playmate come over to her house. The parents watched, kind of from afar, how their children interacted with each other. Afterwards, they went into the house while the children played in the yard. However, within twelve minutes, they heard the voices of their offspring growing louder in the living room. _

_The two pair of parents rushed over to the living room._

_"What do you mean I have cooties?!" Krystal was yelling, waving her finger furiously in front of an indifferent Michael, who was looking at her as though he were bored with her display of agitation. _

_"I mean that. I learned in school that girls have it. Joshua told me!" he retorted back, stepping slightly away from her with a look of deep disgust on his face. "Besides your hair is too bright, it's like a crayon," he teased and Krystal huffed indignantly._

_"Really?" she asked sarcastically, "Look who's talking. At least my hair is manageable! But yours looks as of you did not wash it! Ever!" she pulled out her tongue at him. Ginny decided she had had enough and stepped towards her daughter._

_"Krystal Elizabeth, apologize to Michael now," she had commanded, pointing at Michael and looking at her daughter sternly._

_"No!" she crossed her arms and looked away. "Joshua can apologize to him. Whoever Joshua is!" And she stormed out of the living room and disappeared for a good four hours, until Ginny found her in the room of requirement, playing the piano lousily and she went to sit next to her daughter, whose eyes were puffy. _

_"Were you crying, precious?" she asked softly, stroking her daughter's hair, but Krystal jerked away haughtily. _

_"No." She kept banging down on the keys until Ginny stopped her hands. "Let me play! You can play, I want to play too!" She crossed her arms again._

_"First of all, Krystal Elizabeth," began Ginny, reprimanding her daughter, thing she had not liked and still did not. "Step off your attitude or you are grounded, young girl. Now, I am going to teach you how to play but if you do not want to learn then you can leave and walk straightly direct up to your room and go to sleep. It's well past your bedtime."_

_Krystal didn't move and Ginny began to teach her._

Ginny knew her daughter had cried that day. It broke her heart, but she couldn't really do anything about it and besides, children usually took things very personally, so she never touched that topic again, except once, when Krystal was nine, but the girl did not seem to recall crying. Or did not want to, rather.

She had had a few discussions with Draco, a few arguments, most of them concerning Krystal, others concerning stupid things. But the bigger one was still fresh on her mind. It had been when Draco had bought that horrid creature, that dragon he had given to her for her eighth birthday.

_"That thing hates me," said an indignant Ginny, crossing her arms and looking at her husband with an expression of mixed anger and mixed fear. "It tried to bite me. I still don't understand why you saw it fit to buy Krystal a dragon. Merlin knows those creatures are absolutely horrible with humans. No matter if it was domesticated in the pet shop, Draco."_

_"I wanted to give her something special. And it doesn't hate you; it is just a bit testy around everyone who is not Krystal." Draco had smiled at her, which Ginny found anything but soothing. _

_"Only you would give your child a gift such as that," she said._

_"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Draco, tilting his head jeeringly at her and overlooking her with mixed appraisal and mixed confusion. Ginny shrugged and looked away._

_"That you always like to spend loads of money on her. Draco, she is already spoiled enough, don't spoil her any further, damn it." _

_"There's no need to swear," said Draco, slightly fuming. "And she is my daughter after all, meaning I can spend as much as I like."_

_"Look, just because you want everyone to know that you have money does not mean that you have to spoil her so greatly—"_

_"What, are you saying I give her gifts for publicity?!" he asked angered and Ginny shrugged half-heartedly. "Oh, I can't believe this! You very well know I never need a reason to give my daughter—or you, for that matter—a present, so if you are implying that I only give my daughter gifts because I want people to see I'm a good father then you're wrong!"_

_"Oh, please, Draco, we both know better than that." Ginny crossed her arms, looking at him with scorn, a smile almost tugging at her lips at how ridiculous the whole situation was. She was not at all comfortable with him spoiling Krystal so much. "If it only was for birthdays, then that would be alright. But you give her gifts year-round. Anything she asks for, she gets. She needs to learn life is not like that!"_

_"Shut it, __Virginia__, just shut it." Draco stood up from his chair and began pacing around. "She is my daughter; I can give her gifts whenever I feel like it!"_

_"She is my daughter also and I say I do not want you to give her so many gifts because that will damage her later in life! She will become very frustrated when things don't go her way and it will be your fault!" Ginny fixed her unmoving glare into her husband. "Look how you were in Hogwarts. She will become like you were!"_

_"Is that so wrong?!"_

_"Do you know," Ginny began, practically trembling from fury, "how many times you made people cry?! You were horrible! You were a spoilt little bastard running around! Damn it, she will fucking become Pansy Parkinson!"_

_"Don't you dare compare my daughter to that twat!" yelled Draco, standing before Ginny and towering over her defiantly. "Leave my den right now! You are so common! Just because you never had any money doesn't mean you can come demanding me to not give gifts to my daughter!"_

_"Bastard!"_

_"Whore!"_

_Slap!_

_"Never call me a whore, you deflowering prick! I only did you and you fucking know it!" Tears were burning at her eyes. That was the one name she did not stand being called. So she turned around and left, slamming the door as she cried angrily. Krystal was standing outside, having heard all of it, an innocent smirk plastered on her face._

_"I saw a broom, mummy, and I want it," she said with wit, her gray eyes dancing with the light from the torch overhead. Ginny took a steadying breath._

_"Ask your father for it. He will surely go out and buy it for you." Ginny walked away down the corridor, but the silver-bell voice of her daughter stopped her._

_"But I want you to buy it for me." Ginny turned around, eyeing her daughter's face; malice was glinting on all of her features and Ginny exhaled again._

_"You have got some nerve, young girl. Go to your room." The words were practically recited, having been said so many times. She was getting tired of it._

_"But I want the broom!"_

_"Krystal Elizabeth Malfoy, stop bothering your mother!" came Draco's thundering voice as he stepped on the doorway. "And you are not getting a broom! Now go to your room, did you not hear?! We are not in the mood for your whims!"_

They had been times which required a tough hand. But the girl had straightened up slightly since that time, thankfully. So, we see, it was not all peaches and cream around the Malfoy household. However, as bad as the arguments were, as good were the reconciliations. Both with her daughter and her husband.

They had learned, the hard way, that not everything would go as they wanted. But they did not regret anything, not even one bit. And when things seemed to go from bad to worse, they would take a deep breath and talk things out—some times yell things out.

It hadn't been easy, but it was pleasant.

But, she guessed, that had to be what most women that married Malfoys had to go through. And she thought that maybe, all the ups and downs would pay off afterwards.

**Author's Note**: Alright, maybe I could squeeze more juice out of the story. But really now, only one more chapter. The next one is the final one and it's done. MtaM will be over. Though I might make a one-shot about Krystal and Michael later on. But I don't know, I need feedback on that. And give me ideas for this story, if it's original enough, I might keep going on. Or squeeze them into the next chapter.

Speak now, or forever hold your peace. ;

And now, I should say what I always say. "Liked it? Hated it?" Review, please! Review! Woo! Being predictable is fun.

Blue


	21. Epilogue

Epilogue

Reminiscence

The dining room was quiet without Krystal usually making solid remarks about something she'd seen new in her meanderings about the house that day or about another detail they simply had yet to overlook. Draco missed his daughter. He never thought it would get that far; that he would get so sentimentally-attached to a human being… yet he had. To two human beings, for that fact. And he wasn't really glad about that.

Attachment let to caring, caring showed weakness, weakness was simply not acceptable in the Malfoy Code of Conduct.

Thus, he had been quite frightened at first when he felt that odd void somewhere within himself. He thought that perhaps he was coming down with something, but it had been nothing of the sort. He had realized… hours later… that he just missed his daughter; the offspring that had came from inside him to Ginny and led her to carry it for seventh arduous months until the little rascal was born.

Krystal was a blessing for Draco, Ginny thought, the small girl had made her father show emotion more openly, and this led Ginny to a much happier stage of her life, where she could—and would—be tranquil about in which environment her daughter would dote herself upon. And her daughter was raised in the best environment possible.

Manners, spoiling, hard-work, culinary skills, refinery, flying; she had had a special instructor for each and every trait that could be mentioned, including—but not limited to—Draco and Ginny themselves. It had taken a lot of work.

And it was that their daughter had been a handful.

But they had no complaints whatsoever.

Ginny finished her meal and sighed for the thousandth time; she missed her daughter too. But they would not think about that at the moment. Their daughter was now receiving a proper magical education along with girls and boys her age who would be nice—and horrible—to her. The girl was rich, spoiled, and a brat, like her father, but she was also warm-hearted when she really wanted to or for those she truly cared about. But there were two completely alike personalities in her, and that would cause mayhem.

Oh dear… the number of owls they would be receiving.

Draco raised his gaze to look at his wife, who was currently drinking hot cocoa from a mug and reading a magazine, absorbed in one of its numerous topics. Her empty plate lay in front of her, the fork and the knife elegantly put upon it in a cross. She had taken up on a lot of manners that were essential for her style of life for the past eleven years.

She put down the magazine and looked at him, smiling slightly. "What's on your mind, Draco?" she asked silently, her eyes dancing with her smile. He returned her smile and folded his hands upon the wooden surface of the oak table. Sighing, he shrugged his shoulders elegantly.

"Nothing really, darling," he replied simply. She looked at him with a dubious expression for a second and then shrugged herself.

Draco had changed, if only to her. But he was still as cruel to everyone else and to people he thought that were inferior to him—in what case—it was almost everyone that was not his family or close friends. And there were even some close friends that were considered inferior.

She was rather forced—or rather resigned—to live with it all, with the difference in ideals and the difference in opinions. With the constant degrading of everything and everyone who did not share his opinions… including herself at times.

Regardless to say that it hadn't been the best of marriages, but she couldn't complain. As far as forced marriages went, she assumed hers was one of the best. And besides, what would be the point of marrying a Malfoy if he was not accustomed to getting his way.

And he always did get his way. And she loved him for it. She loved his determination.

"I love you." She smiled at him as she stood up from the chair and made her way to where he was sitting at the other end.

"I love you too," he said, sitting her on his lap idly and kissing her thoroughly. "How much?"

"Very much," she muttered against his lips and was slightly surprised when he made her straddle him.

"Why don't you show me then?" he asked suggestively and she laughed.

It was always a thrill with him, an exhilarating journey that had started all over again for both of them. Essentially, she thought; that was simply Marriage to a Malfoy.

THE END

**Author's Note:** Oh dear… it's over already! I want to think all the reviewers, each and every one of you because it would be impossible without you! MtaM is finally over and I will do that small one shot between Krystal and Michael, so keep a look out for it!

Thanks once more! As always, reviews are muchly appreciated!

Love,

Blue Rain


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